Raise Me Up
by AuroraAustralice
Summary: Scorpius Malfoy is born with Angelman syndrome. His mother and Draco's wife Astoria Greengrass leaves them both, disgusted and ashamed by the little boy's illness. Now it's up to single father Draco Malfoy to raise his son in a safe and conducive atmosphere. What happens when one day the little boy wanders of in Diagon Ally and ends up in Hermione Grangers book shop? (RandR please)
1. Chapter 1

**_Raise Me Up_**

Scorpius Malfoy is born with born with _Angelman syndrome. _Which is usually characterized as a neuro-genetic disorder , severe intellectual and developmental disability, sleep disturbance, seizures, jerky movements (especially hand-flapping), frequent laughter or smiling, and usually a happy demeanor.

His mother and Draco's wife Astoria Greengrass leaves them both, disgusted and ashamed by the little boy's illness. Now it's up to single father Draco Malfoy to raise his son in a safe and conducive atmosphere.

He knows that Scorpius can never have a normal life, go to Hogwarts, fly a broom but he loves his son to death anyway. Scorpius has given him the meaning of love and dedication. Looking after his son is also a full time job, Draco refuses to hire nannies and nurses. But looking after his son leaves him no time for love. What happens when one day the little boy wanders of in Diagon Ally and ends up in Hermione Grangers book shop?

Hermione is running away from an abusive past, Ron Weasley took to the bottle soon after the war and once he's a few shots of fire whiskey down Hermione became the perfect punching bag. She only stayed with him in the hope that one day he would improve; now three years later she has finally escaped and lives a secluded life handling her tiny book store until one day the most beautiful child she has ever seen walked into her door….

Hermione recognizes his symptoms right away but Scorpius and Hermione bond over the little boy's love of colorful picture books. So what happens when the Scorpius becomes friends with Hermione and Hermione in turn loves the child like her own? What is Draco to do?

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**_Draco/Hermione/Blaise/Harry_**

**_Romance/Family/Drama _**

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**_Tell me what you think? _**

**_Coming Soon !_**


	2. Chapter 1: The Beginning

**_This story is a shout out to all the parents with special needs children. You need to know that you are not alone and not to be ashamed of their extra needs. They are as deserving if not more of your love. Don't think of them as disabled but as special. Try to fill their lives with magic, don't pity them, don't scorn them... Just love them. Because every one in world deserves love and some more than others._**

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**_Raise Me Up_**

Draco Malfoy looked down at his two year old son in awe, as he took his first halting steps. The little boy looked up at his father with a wide toothless smile. Draco quickly snapped a picture one for his mother and the second for Scorpius's therapist.

He was making amazing progress. From the outside no one would ever understand why Draco was so happy that his son was walking at the age of two, for any one else Scorpius was a late bloomer but what they didn't know was that he had Angelman syndrome, seeing the smile on his father's face the little boy began to flail his arms happily.

Draco knew his son could never talk and that thought caused him unbearable pain but he contented himself with the happy expressions on Scorpius's face, picking up and cuddling the little boy as he toddled into his father's arms.

It was Saturday morning and Draco and his son had an appointment with Scorpius's muggle pediatrician, he was one of the best in country and he specialized in children with learning disorders and his son had physical therapy today, which was always a challenge, now it was bound to get better since Scorpius had begun to walk.

But it was hard on Draco seeing his little son cry and get upset when the physiotherapist forced him to go through with his exercises. Draco looked down at his son happily looking at the bright colored teddy in Draco's hands with fascination.

"Hey buddy." He whispered gently to his son, "I know how you hate physical so I promise we'll go to Grand Ma's after this where you can play in the water. Okay?"

The child looked up at Draco with his wide blue eyes open and trusting and cooed his special baby coo to his father, running his chubby hands over his father rough cheeks. Draco laughed gently and squeezed his son tighter, eliciting a delighted giggle from the little boy.

The first thing that the doctor had told him about Scorpius's disorder was that children afflicted with it, loved water, they had a strange fascination with it and were extremely happy while they were near water.

That was usually how Draco got his son to calm down if he had an episode, he took him to the Manor where after Scorpius was diagnosed, Narcissa Malfoy had a large swimming pool built. It was an immediate calming agent….

Picking up Scorpius's bag with his toys, a change of clothes and his swimming trunks Draco walked out of his flat in the upscale neighborhood of The Bishops Avenue in East Finchley. It was perfect place to raise Scorpius; there was a play center not far away that catered to children much like his son, a hospital, a special medication center that provided Scorpius's medicine and a swimming pool close by.

Draco's decision to move here was based purely on the fact that he wanted Scorpius to have a metrogenous upbringing. He wanted him to have the best offered by both the wizerding world as well as the muggle world. Draco didn't want him to feel less adequate in the world; he would protect his son from everything bad in this world if he could.

But he had already failed once, he had failed to protect him from his own mother's scorn and Draco had vowed… never again.

Astoria Greengrass didn't deserve to have a son Scorpius… so gentle and trusting… the exact opposite of her hard as nails personality. She deserved to rot in hell for her abuse of his baby boy, his son who had for no fault of his own incurred the wrath of his mother.

The women was as maternal and warm as a glacier and he would be damned if he let her back in Scorpius's life.

Hoisting his chubby baby into his arms and slinging his bag over his shoulder Draco walked out of his house.

They always walked to the doctor's office, Draco taking this chance to show the child different trees and animals, small birds anything to captivate and engage him in interaction with his father, even if it was just movements of his arms and hands and the expressions on his face.

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Draco picked up his sobbing son and kissed his curly blond hair and wiped the tears from his red blotched cheeks, today had been a particularly tough session in physical strength and the little boy was very upset.

Fat, crystalline tears dripped down his rosy cheeks as he hid his face in his father's chest. Draco quickly thanked Mia the physiotherapist and walked out of the center, Scorpius clung to him tighter, his tears slowing as his father made funny faces at him in an attempt to soothe him gently.

Draco pressed his lips to his son's soft hair and rocked him back and forth as they walked.

Soon enough Scorpius was fast asleep in his father's arms and Draco Apprated to Malfoy Manor. It was summer and the Manor was wonderfully cool, landing in the study Draco took Scorpius to the nursery built especially for him and laid him down, covering him with a light pashmina throw; he bent to kiss his son gently on his forehead.

He had some accounts to settle, so Draco strode back to the study fully expecting his mother to be waiting here.

He had no time to chat just now, **Malfoy Investments, Managements and Creative** had over the past two years grown to become a leading company in the wizerding world. So now Draco had an entire team handling the work load, while he looked after Scorpius.

The company he had built from the shambles of his father's was thriving and now slowly the Malfoy name was returning to its former glory.

Stepping inside the library Draco greeted his mother with a kiss on her cheek.

"Where is my grandson?" Narcissa demanded, she was fully dressed to play with Scorpius, her long blond hair caught up in a pony-tail, on her feet, sensible shoes and her body clad in comfortable jeans and a shirt.

Draco grinned at his mother. "He had a tough session today, he'll be awake soon enough mum. Both of you can play then. Mum he had a really hard session today, be sure to take him swimming please."

Narcissa gasped and frowned. "My poor baby." She said softly. "Draco darling would you mind terribly if just went and spent some time with him?"

"Oh and mother I almost forgot. This is for you." Draco said to her, handing her a perfect moving picture of Scorpius walking towards his father with a wide grin as Draco gently encouraged him.

Narcissa took the picture with a sad smile and hugged it close to her chest.

"Son." She said just before walking out. "You're doing a fine job. I am so proud of you and my little grandson and don't you ever forget that."

Draco just nodded and hugged his mother, who rushed out of the room and towards the nursery.

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"Come one little buddy, come on baby boy." Draco urged Scorpius forward as the little boy flapped his legs in enjoyment of the cool water. Narcissa waiting about four feet away with her arms open to catch the child.

They were teaching him how to swim and the little family was having a blast. Most of all, the tiny boy who had everyone he loved right here with him, paying attention to him.

The wide blue pool was littered with colorful beach balls and bright toys ranging from little ships to magic ducks which swan and quacked realistically.

Reaching his grandmother, the child paused to take a breath giggling happily the entire time. Draco had read somewhere that children with Angelman were always happy, he was glad for that…

Slowly Scorpius swam back to his father and wrapped his arms around his dad's neck; Draco reached out and steadied his son, clutching him in his large muscular, brawny arms, holding him to his massive chest. The child pressed his little pouting lips to his father's cheeks and gave him a kiss; in turn the father tickled his chubby tummy till the little baby laughed.

It was the perfect moment.

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_Just something showing Draco and Scorpius everyday life. Hermione and Scorp in the next chapter. _

**_Please Review… I really love hearing back from the fans _****_:)_**


	3. Chapter 2: Finding Her

_Hey, ya'll listen there is no love triangle in this story, that was just a list of characters in the introduction. Please don't forget to review! I love to hear from the readers..._

_Without further ado, I present _

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**_Raise me Up _**

"You have to eat buddy, if you want to go to Diagon Ally today and meet your uncle Blaise and your friend James. You have to eat all the oatmeal in the bowl." Draco explained patiently as Scorpius turned his head away refusing to take another bite.

It was eight in the morning and Draco was trying to feed his son breakfast while reading him stories. Today they were looking at the colorful illustrations of Jack and the Magic Beanstalk. Both of them sat on the couch with the baby on his father's lap, looking up at him with a wounded expression like he had just demanded he climb Mount Everest.

Draco sighed and settled the little boy safely on the sofa before getting up to clean up. Scorpius would remain entertained with the new gifts he got from his Godmother just yesterday. Ginny Potter had spoilt his son to the point of no return, he quirked his lips in amusement as he thought of the delivery of the newest gifts.

Ginny had barged into his house with Potter trailing behind her meekly and told Draco point blank that if he made a fuss over the toys she would _Avada_ him and then there was no turning back…

And now Scorpius had two specially designed life size dolls, one a tiger and the other a penguin. Both custom designed for him by George Wesley, they were colorful and they were safe for him.

He had to admit George had done a wonderful job, with these toys Draco didn't fear that Scorp would put them in his mouth and choke and not be able to make a sound because they were fully equipped with special needs children's guidelines, also the toys kept him entertained by singing silly songs and talking to him. Draco wanted to invest in this very special creation, which was one of the reasons why he was visiting Diagon Alley today to talk to George.

Draco rushed through the house packing Scorpius bag to take with him, in went his seizure medication and injections and potions along with small brightly colored toys and big, large illustration books to keep both the young children entertained, usually Draco was more wary about letting children who did not have a similar condition playing with Scorpius because more often than not they didn't understand his son's quirks.

But James was an exception, at the age of six he was like an over protective elder brother to his son. Often when Scorp stayed over at the Potters it was James who reminded his parents that it was time for his medication.

Though it was rare that Draco ever left his son alone, he was far too precious. It wasn't like the baby had a problem staying away from his father; Scorpius was a very friendly child… over friendly perhaps. But Draco missed his son like crazy and it caused him great pain to be away from him even for a short time…

Once the bag was packed Draco reached out and picked up his son, it was his favorite time of the day, bath time.

Draco took his son to his special bathroom; very inch of the room was covered in colorful cartoon characters and it was made safe with anti-slip tiles. Scorp bounced in his father's arms as he caught sight of the huge bath tub filled with warm water.

Quickly getting him out of his clothes, Draco put his son into the tub. Reaching for the body wash and soap while Scorpius was distracted with his boats in the water, otherwise it would take hours for the baby to let Draco wash him. Draco poured out the mango scented shampoo onto his head and rubbed vigorously, laughing when Scorpius splashed water on him playfully, washing of the shampoo off with the over head shower and then quickly cleaning the toddler's body, Draco wrapped him in a towel and drained the tub.

He knew what was coming next; as he carried Scorpius to his room he heard the slow sniffs indicating the oncoming onslaught of tears. This happened every day, Draco tickled his son and blew a raspberry onto his chubby little tummy in an effort to distract him and as always it worked…

Scorpius's clothes were laid out in Draco's room; he usually slept in Draco's room with him in case he had seizures in the night or went in anaphylactic shock.

Draco hurriedly dressed his son in a bright pair of shorts and a colorful t-shirt with his favorite _Woody from Toy Story _and walked to the living room to pick up his penguin.

Apparating out of his living room and into Diagon Ally Draco tightened his hold on his son; it was always a fear of his that Scorpius would get lost in the crowd.

"Come on baby boy it's time for daddy to do some work okay? You be good when you play with James." Draco said nuzzling his baby's head, breathing in his sweet, special baby scent.

Scorpius looked up at his father curiously, trying to understand what he was saying but was immediately distracted by the vivid atmosphere around him, which he regarded from the safety of his father's arms while he sucked his thumb.

Scorpius had the perfect house seat to witness all of what was going on around him, Draco at six feet six towered over most people.

His muscular physique and chillingly handsome face making him a perfect ogling candidate for all the women walking down the street. They all knew who he was; he had been featured in _Witch Weekly_ as their most allegeable bachelor for two years in the running. He wasn't lacking anything, he had the looks, the power and the money but Draco didn't want another beautiful on the outside yet rotten inside type women like his ex-wife.

No...

He wanted someone kind and loving, who would love his son like he was her own, not someone who would callously push Scorpius's needs aside….

Scorpius **always** came first. His needs, his wants, his quirks…. Before anyone else in Draco's life.

Draco felt Scorp begin to get excited in his arms and looked up, brought out of his musings, giving his son a tender smile.

Draco spotted Blaise and Harry waiting for him at the stoop of the _Weasley Wizard Wheezes_, James hanging of his father's hand. Blaise lifted his hand in greeting and Harry and James to rushed forward to greet the single father and his baby.

Really… thought Draco, he is very-very lucky that he is surrounded by such fantastic people who loved and accepted his son as he was. And made his life bright with their happy presences.

As soon as they were close enough Blaise bound forward and took the excitable little boy into his arms, hugging him tight.

"Hey spaceman." He said gently using his special nickname for Scorpius. "I heard you began to walk yesterday, you did so good pal!" Blaise hugged the little boy tight.

Harry came forward and kissed the baby on his head, hugging him and Draco knew secretly handing him a chocolate frog.

All three men entered the shop and as soon as they were inside, Draco let Scorpius down and let him toddle to James who immediately pulled out a tiny golden snitch from his back pocket and showed it to the little boy.

Suddenly out of the blue there was a loud bang from the back room and all of them rushed to see if George was okay. In the mean time Draco forgot to lock the door so that Scorp didn't wander outside.

The curious baby pushed open the door and halting walked out, his chubby legs moving fast as he began to run…

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Hermione Granger heard the soft tinkering of the bell in the very interiors of her old shop and called out a hurried 'be there soon' and rushed out.

She loved it here, surrounded and cocooned by all these books, her shop always smelled of fresh coffee, cinnamon buns and oranges. Maybe that's why the customers felt so comfortable here.

Tiny, fluffy poufs and old worn but soft wing chairs were kept in each isle, so that they could browse in peace. The warm honey wood and red, gold and pink stained glass windows threw bright lights on the floor.

All in all making it a warm, welcoming place.

Hermione ran her hands over her long demure skirt and hurried out to greet her newest customers. Instead she caught sight of a beautiful blond haired child, he looked about two years old and he was very fascinated by the sunshine thrown by the stained glass windows, he kept giggling as he put his little white shoe into the light and pulled it out again.

Hermione felt her heart tug and she walked up to the child, who looked up at her and gave her wide grin. He looked exactly like Malfoy she thought with a shock. This must be his baby, the one Harry told her about, the one with Angelman.

Hermione reached out to him tenderly and he toddled right into her arms and snuggled up close to her. Carrying him to the children's books section she picked up a large cushion and set him down on it with a colorful book which he looked at with avid interest.

Moving to the side Hermione muttered a quite '_Expecto Patronum'_ and adding her voice to it, informing Harry at the Weasley's shop where Malfoy's son was. Harry had told her he was meeting Draco for lunch today so she knew where to send the _Partonus. _

Her job done she sat down next to the little boy and began to flip through the book with him. Scorpius crawled into her arms and settled there, his pump arms coming around her petite waist to rest on her back. Hermione gently ran her small hand though his hair, in slow soothing motions.

Soon enough she heard loud, desperately thundering footsteps and looked up to see Draco Malfoy looking down at her.

As he opened his mouth to speak, his son lifted his head from Hermione's tummy and toddled to him. Draco leaned down as the child put his arms around Draco's neck and pressed his lips to his cheek. Hermione looked on mesmerized as Draco gently kissed his sons head and checked over his body to see if he was hurt somewhere.

"Oh! Baby boy you scared me out of my years of growth." Draco said gently to his son who promptly forgot about him and returned to Granger and the book that he was looking at, the one that his entrance had interrupted.

He watched Granger as she gently lifted him into her arms and settle him carefully on the plush pillows and give him the brightly colored book.

Hermione walked towards him and Draco reached out and enveloped her in his arms, feeling her tiny body getting engulfed by his and breathing in her beautiful cinnamon and citrus scent.

"I cannot thank you enough." He whispered into her ear.

Hermione pulled back her cheeks a soft pink.

That when Draco caught sight of _IT_.

"Who did that to you Granger?" he demanded softly as he examined her black eye and split lip.

"I fell down the stairs Draco; I have no clue what you're talking about." Her melodious voice troubled and soft as she averted her eyes from his.

"Hermione do I look stupid to you? Those wounds are not caused by falling down the stairs; they are caused by someone's fist."

Hermione looked down ashamed.

"Okay listen to me, I know I haven't been the kindest person to you or even the most decent. But if you want to talk, it's the least I can do after you helped me out with Scorpius. I have a feeling that my son is going to want to see you again soon one day. Maybe then you'll want to talk?" he gently ran his hand over her cheek and took his son from the cushions.

As he was about to walk out he paused at the door way and said "If you ever want to talk, you know where to find me."

Hermione sat down and held on to her chest to stop her rapidly beating heart and she knew this was not the last she had seen of Draco Malfoy.

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**_Please review! _**


	4. Chapter 3: The Dream

_Guys, I have only one request. Please review. They help me in understanding if I am doing a good job or not. If ya'll like the story or not. So be nice and __**review **_

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**_Raise Me Up _**

_"Astoria calm down." Draco said softly trying to placate his distressed wife who was now being fanned by one of house elves._

_Astoria got up, her lower lips quivering dramatically and her large, cold blue eyes with their fluttering lashes taking on a theatrical 'woe is me' look that Draco was now so familiar with._

_"Me!" she screeched out, lifting one perfectly manicured , long nailed, crimson painted hand to her chest as if she were clutching her heart. Though thought Draco wryly for one to clutch a heart one must possess one and all Astoria had in her chest cavity was a gold detecting device._

_"Me a mother of a... a…" her voice rose one more decibel as Draco winced. "A mother of a RETARD!" _

_Draco felt white hot anger coursing though his veins and hazing his vision. If he weren't the man that he was and the kind that hit women ….he would have hit her. _

_The furious, savage anger rushed through his body like a drug, making him shake in an attempt to control it. _

_Stalking forward with lethal intent, he narrowed his eyes at Astoria. The stupid bint was going on and on with her tirade not even looking at him, otherwise she would have known to stop, the moment she opened her mouth._

_Draco caught hold of her upper arm in a death grip and yanked her forward. His face a mask of fury, "If you ever! And I mean ever… talk about my son like that. I will have you killed… do I make myself clear." He snarled at her, feeling satisfaction trickle through him when he saw the terrified look on her face._

_"But darling you cannot be serious? What will my friends say when they get to know about the brats condition?" she said fluttering her hands around herself._

_"First of all, do I look like I give a fuck about what your friends will say? About MY SON and if you're stupid enough to think I will, you really are dumber than I thought. And second when have you ever been a mother to 'the brat' as you so charmingly put it? Scorpius has been foisted like a bag of unwanted luggage from nanny to nanny, nurse to nurse. Who without being a part of him biologically have loved him more that you ever can!" _

_Stepping closer and closer now in full speed, Draco vented his frustrations._

_"Astoria you don't have a heart, you have a lump of ice in your chest and heavens forbid someone is not part of your 'perfect' lifestyle! You are a spoiled rotten pretend princess with no goal in life and you are a waste of good space. You know what…. I have no words. Just get the hell out of my house and take your shit with you. You can insult me, my family ,my entire fucking world but not my son, your son….. I have had enough of you. Just get the fuck out of my house" _

_Astoria's mouth hung open as she gaped wordlessly at him but quickly regaining her composer she then giving him an icy smile she walked out of the room, pausing at the threshold to look back at him and said slowly. "You will regret this, dearly…"_

_"You can take your threats to your precious daddy and tell him to come at me with all he has, I will take you down. Do you understand __wife__ ... And trust me when I say this…. When my lawyers are done with you, you will not have a penny in your name from my side." Draco said to her coldly. _

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Draco woke up sweating profusely, his dark gray tee- shirt clinging to his hard pectoral muscles and his tight packed abdomen. He felt a familiar tightness in his chest, it was always there when he had this particular dream.

He felt an unusual weight on his chest and looked up to see his son resting comfortably on Draco's rib cage, his tiny bottom in the air and his pink lips puckered out as he made small sucking sounds in his sleep.

Draco felt the same rush of love as always when he looked at Scorpius, and as always it overwhelmed him to the point that he felt that he couldn't contain it. He never knew that he could feel this way about another human being, his child was his everything, and Draco could not imagine how Astoria could walk away from this miracle.

His miracle…

As if sensing that he was the topic of his father's thoughts Scorpius's eyes fluttered open, hazy with sleep.

Another symptom of Angelman was the difficulty in sleeping and often times Draco stayed awake the entire night rocking the baby to sleep.

Scorpius gave his father his special smile, which he reserved just for Draco, all with the dimples and big-big blue eyes. And reached out with his chubby little hands and clutched his father's cheeks.

Draco grinned and picked him up. "Okay come on big boy, now that your awake let's see if we can do something fun."

Scorpius gurgled up at his father, his small little legs going like mad. Draco caught one perfect little foot and pressed a kiss to its underside, laughing when his son crinkled his nose at the unfamiliar sensation.

Putting the little boy down on his swing in the living room, Draco stepped into the kitchen to pour him some juice. The door left open so that he could listen for the child.

And suddenly it went very silent….

_Too silent…._

Scorpius was a very vocal baby, he may not have been able to talk but he would always gurgle or coo or make some sort of sound.

The glass dropped from Draco's hands as he rushed into the other room.

Scorpius was seizing ! His eyes rolling into the back of his head and his small body wracked with spasms after spasm every few seconds, his tiny mouth was open and spit and blood was gushing out of his lips as the baby tried to hold on to the bars of his swing. His body kept shaking with violent shocks !

Draco rushed forward and grabbed his baby of the swing and put him down gently on the couch. He always kept bottles of his anti-seizure medications on ever flat surface because he had seen this happen before.

Quickly filling the syringe Draco inserted it into his little boy's soft skin. The first prick of the needle sent Scorpius into hysterical howls and tears flew down his face unbidden as he struggled to move away, this was hard for Draco knowing that he was causing his son all this pain but he couldn't help it, without the medicine his son would most likely die…

But if Draco could take his pain, he would in a heartbeat….

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	5. Chapter 4: So Close To Death

**_DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW!_** **_Seriously guys, it one tiny lil request ;) _**

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**_Raise me up._**

"Patient is Scorpius Malfoy aged two years and three months, he is seizing… let's get him to trauma bay one and push one of _epinephrine_. He has a _Sub-Dural hematoma_ and his right pupil is blown! Come one people let's move! Move! Move!" the surgeon said in a panicked voice as they wheeled Draco's son away.

Draco wanted to rush after them but the nurse stopped him with a shake of her head. He knew he could do nothing more to help his child…

One of the doctors operating on Scorp walked by him and Draco grabbed his hand and said in an urgent undertone. "My son… he had Angelman's Syndrome and I have already administered his seizure medication. Can you please tell me what is going on!?"

"Sir I need you to sit down and calm yourself. You have brought him to one of the best government run medical facilities. Just let us take care of him." Said the young man calmly, trying to soothe Draco.

"I can't be calm that is MY SON, whose head your opening over there!" Draco growled in frustration, his large body held rigid with fear and apprehension.

"The doctors know what to do sir, please calm down."

* * *

Dr. Raymond Marks rushed around the small child that they had just brought in, attaching his _thoracic tube_ to clear his airways and giving him his medication.

"Alright, I need a full _blood profile_ on this child and _MRI and a CT._ Tell the lab techs to get it done stat, we have to take him in for emergency surgery."

The interns around him hurried around doing as he asked them too.

Ray looked out at the man who had brought in his son and felt pity consuming him. In the information given it said that Draco Malfoy was a single father with sole custody of his son. He could guess why the mother had left… It was never easy rearing a mentally deficient child but by the looks of it this man knew what he was doing.

If he hadn't given the child his medication at the time he did, the chances of the baby surviving would have been hopeless. The father looked uncomfortable sitting here; in the hospital… his body was tense and tight like he didn't belong here…

"Doctor we're ready for you." said the nurse beside him in blue pediatric scrubs. "Doctor Marks also Doctor Phillip Jameson will be scrubbing in with you. He is the attending of pediatric surgery and Doctor Jamie Green the new trauma surgeon."

"Let's go." He said shortly and walked out of the trauma bay. "And also make sure someone keeps updating the father during the surgery." He instructed the nurse.

Walking into the OR, Marks felt the same rush as always. He felt the adrenalin pump though his blood almost making him dizzy.

_It was time to save a life…._

He scrubbed in, thoroughly sterilized and walked over to look at the little boy's films. The _hematoma _was larger than they had first expected and he had a massive amount of _brain-bleeds_ and there were some _clots _that needed fixing.

Snapping his gloves into place, he walked over to where the child lay on the table.

"Nurse _scalpel_ please." He said, putting two fingers over the eye where the first pupil had blown and making a _vertical incision_. "_Suction_ please, there is a _clot on his frontal lobe_ which we need to evacuate."

"_Drill_ please; we have _a clot in the hypothalamus too. Specula please and suction._"

Ray looked down at the child's _Dura_ which seemed to pulse at the normal _sinus rhythm_, along with his _heart beat_ and began to slowly _evacuate_ and _remove clots_ carefully cleaning up the blood that caused the seizures.

But suddenly he heard the cardio monitor begin to beep and he felt his heart drop.

"Nurse _Asystole_! We are going to need to crack his chest open! Give me a _scalpel and retractors and begin compressions._ Who has the Ambu bag? Begin _pulse rhythm and push one of Clonazepam_… he is seizing!"

Ray looked down at the small heart beating slowly and said to the nurse. "_He is brady-cardiac, I need you to push one of atropine and if that does not work dopamine and epinephrine though the intra-venous line okay."_

The nurse beside him nodded and Ray returned to compressing the heart, when suddenly they heard a low beep that indicated….

**_Flatline..._**

"He's going! Someone hand me the _paddles!_"

Quickly spreading the gel on the chest of the tot, he turned and yelled at the nurse. "Okay charge to 10 joules and let's go… clear!" he shocked the heart and when it didn't start up he went higher. "Okay charge to 20 please and clear!"And shocked it again

"Okay doctor we are back to _normal sinus rhythm_." Said the nurse beside him as Marks sighed with relief and handed them back the _internal paddles_.

"God, little guy you really gave us a scare there." He laughed as all the interns beside him cheered. "_Suture_ his chest up okay. Make sure that there is a very little chance of a scar." He said to a senior intern and got back to the baby's open craniotomy.

"Alright _Tyndallers_ please we need to wedge open this damaged tissue and see if can save it. _Suction please and hand me the fiber optic endoscope_, I want to see if we have to go any further or is this all the _clots_ that there are there."

"Okay so, nurse _suction_ please and that's the last of them. I think we are done here." He said breathing a sigh of relief and feeling happy that he could give the little boy's father good news. The child had a long road of recovery ahead of him but Ray was glad he had a father like Draco Malfoy who knew exactly what to expect.

"Can you finish off for me here?"

"Yes doctor and the post-op notes will be on your desk tomorrow."

Marks walked out of the OR with a smile on his face, just glad that he didn't have to call time of death today on such a young child.

* * *

Draco was pacing and his hands were twitching with nervous fear as he thought about all the different things that could happen to Scorp and that when he spotted the doctor, still in scrubs walking toward him, a wide smile on his face.

"I take it, it went well?" he asked fear displayed quite openly on his face.

"We had complications and trust me it will be a long road to recovery but for now he is out of the woods." Ray smiled as the young man in front of him crumpled to his knees in relief , almost sobbing with relieved happiness.

"When can I see him?"

"We'll have to keep him for a few days, just to see that he doesn't have a relapse but I can take you to him now."

Lead by the doctor Draco walked down the hallway and into a small private room with cartoon characters all over the walls and saw his tiny little son lying on the bed.

His chest and head covered with packed gauze. Had Draco taken him to Saint. Mungos he knew they wouldn't have been able to save him. He was just thankful that he got here to this muggle hospital in time.

"Hey buddy." He said leaning over his son tenderly and kissing his plump cheeks. "You were so brave today. My little solider. You did do well!" he said as he lay next to his son on the tiny cot and pressed his lips to his forehead.

"I love you Scorpius, you're so precious baby boy and I promise I won't let this happen again."

Ray looked at the duo on the hospital cot… the father leaning over his son protectively and the son snuggling close to his father even in sleep…

As if the baby knew that Draco would always be there to protect him….

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**_REVIEW PLEASE !_**

**Frontal Lobe**- associated with reasoning, planning, parts of speech, movement, emotions, and problem solving

**Hypothalamus**- part of the diencephalon, ventral to the thalamus. The structure is involved in functions including homeostasis, emotion, thirst, hunger, circadian rhythms, and control of the autonomic nervous system. In addition, it controls the pituitary.

**Surgical instruments:**

Graspers, such as forceps

Clamps and occluders for blood vessels and other organs

Retractors, used to spread open skin, ribs and other tissue

Distractors, positioners and stereotactic devices

Mechanical cutters (scalpels, lancets, drill bits, rasps, trocars, Ligasure, Harmonic scalpel etc.)

Dilators and specula, for access to narrow passages or incisions

Suction tips and tubes, for removal of bodily fluids

Sealing devices, such as surgical staplers

Irrigation and injection needles, tips and tubes, for introducing fluid

Tyndallers, to help "wedge" open damaged tissues in the brain.

Powered devices, such as drills, dermatomes

Scopes and probes, including fiber optic endoscopes and tactile probes

Carriers and appliers for optical, electronic and mechanical devices

Ultrasound tissue disruptors, cryotomes and cutting laser guides

Measurement devices, such as rulers and calipers

**Bradycardia: **In the context of adult medicine, is the resting heart rate of under 60 beats per minute (BPM), although it is seldom symptomatic until the rate drops below 50 BPM. It sometimes results in fatigue, weakness, dizziness and at very low rates fainting. Bradycardia during sleep is considered normal and rates around 40-50 BPM are usual.

A **hematoma** or **haematoma**, is a localized collection of blood outside the blood vessels, usually in liquid form within the tissue. An ecchymosis, commonly called a bruise, is a hematoma of the skin larger than 10mm. internal bleeding is generally considered to be a spreading of blood within the abdomen or skull, not within muscle.

It is not to be confused with hemangioma which is an abnormal build up of blood vessels in the skin or internal organs.

Dopamine and epinephrine and Clonazepam : Medication

In medicine, **asystole** : colloquially known as **flatline**, is a state of no cardiac electrical activity, hence no contractions of the myocardium and no cardiac output or blood flow. Asystole is one of the conditions that may be used for a medical practitioner to certify clinical or legal death.

A **bag valve mask**, abbreviated to **BVM** and sometimes known by the proprietary name **Ambu bag**, is a hand-held device used to provide positive pressure ventilation to a patient who is not breathing or who is breathing inadequately. The device is a normal part of a resuscitation kit for trained professionals, such as ambulance crew. The BVM is frequently used in hospitals, and is an essential part of a crash cart. The device is used extensively in the operating room to ventilate an anaesthetised patient in the minutes before a mechanical ventilator is attached. The device is self-filling with air, although additional oxygen (O2) can be added.


	6. Chapter 5: Issues

**_Raise Me Up. _**

"Draco thanks for meeting me here man." Said Blaise as he and Draco sat down in one of chic little French cafés in the old town, right opposite Diagon Ally.

Draco nodded absently, taking a sip of his rich, aromatic, freshly ground black coffee from Ghana and savoring it, it strangely reminded him of Grangers soft scent as it wafted towards him that day in her shop. He enjoyed these rarer moments of adult company without his son who was spending the day with his grandmother.

The old Tudor pillars and gilded mirrors along with the mosaic fresco made a charmingly understated meeting spot, private enough to hold important and personal meeting and commanding enough to avoid the presence of reporters.

The people who flocked here, to old town were from the class of old money. It showed in the way they walked and held themselves, the cultured undertone to their voice, their calm understated yet clearly expensive clothes, yes this place reeked of the sounds and scents of old money and Draco and Blaise fit right in. Their voice to held the low rich quality of their fellow diners and the moment Draco stepped in here he felt the training that had been breed into him from when he was only Scorpius's age kick in.

Blaise was dressed in a three piece silk muggle suit, Armani. The inheritance of style from his Italian father. He eyed Draco with a worried frown on his face, his warm café mocha eyes apprehensive and wry; he nervously soothed the teal silk tie around his neck as he waited for Draco to put down his cup, waving the waiter away with an impatient hand.

"I got an owl yesterday…" He began hesitantly. "From Astoria's lawyer, as your lawyer they have a duty to inform me if they intend to take you to court. Draco she is going for custody of Scorpius, if you don't pay her."

Draco calmly raised an eyebrow and looked at Blaise with his arctic blue eyes, leaning insolently back into his chair. "That's impossible; you were there at the hearing where the Wizengamot announced that she was unfit to be a parent."

"Draco she is going to sue and if you do not give her the sum she is demanding, she will take you to court!"

Draco pushed his shaggy blond hair back and clenched his granite jaw, his large body leaning over the table as he glared at Blaise. "Why now? After two years. Why does she want my money now?"

"Well I did some digging and there is some pretty nasty stuff here. I can see why she didn't want to ask her parents for money." Blaise pushed a yellow dossier across the table; Draco picked it up and flipped it open.

His eyes quickly scanned the contents and as he went further down the list the more shocked he became…..

"She owes money to narcotics dealer?" he asked in shocked, disgust.

"Not just any dealer's man. No… these are some powerful men and she owes them way too much. They have the power to make sure she pays, in gold or blood…"

"What are the narcotics?"

"Apparently after you divorced her, she got into the hallucinatory drugs. You know cannabis, datura, and peyote. And when those and the magic potions stopped giving her the high she wanted, she came across the muggle drugs. Cocaine, LSD, Heroin, PCP. Yeah it's bad…"

"How much does she own them?" Draco asked coldly, sickened that he had once called this women his wife.

"She is not just paying for herself, she found on tripped up druggie who she calls her soul mate. And together they have about 4 million in debt to their providers, muggle money." He said silently, cringing at the raw fury on Draco's face.

"That bitch!" he snarled lowly, his handsome face contorting in savage rage. "She couldn't take care of her son but she wants ME to pay for her fucking drug debts. Tell her to come at me…. She is not seeing even a bit of my son or my cash."

Blaise nodded slightly fearful of the fury on Dracos face but complied all the same.

"And till such time as the trial starts, I am taking Scorpius with me to Paris, I do NOT want the toxic piece of trash near my son." He said calmly. "Scorpius has been fussy ever since his surgery and I'm taking him to Grangers book shop in Diagon Ally today after I attend luncheon with my mother and him. I don't want her anywhere near us. Okay? I trust the restraining order is still in place?"

"Yes." Blaise nodded at Draco and got up to shake his hand. Both the friends parted ways from the café as Draco walked down the cobbled stone path to _Viva_ the new pizzeria to meet his child and his mother, his long black cloak bellowed out behind him as his gray suit molded his hard muscles that were held tense with anger. His handsome face was held in a chilling sneer which was at once attractive and terrifying.

He would not let her win without a fight he thought grimly

* * *

"Scorpius stay close to daddy, okay buddy?" Draco told his small son who was now just outside Hermione Grangers book shop and fairly bouncing with glee. Clearly he recognized the place. Scorpius's tiny hand was clutched in Draco's much larger one and the bandage from his surgery was still on.

The little boy toddled forward and pushed the door open, immediately Draco's senses were assaulted by the seductive scent of citrus and freshly ground coffee. The baby danced forward with an ecstatic expression on his face as he caught sight of Hermione. Draco felt a strong pull of lust as he saw her hurry forward, her petit arms open as Scorpius reached her. The little boy jumped into her arms for a cuddle as she fussed over him. Draco just stood back, leaning against the door waiting for HER to take notice of him.

Hermione's eyes traveled up slowly, and that's when she caught sight of HIM. Draco Malfoy looked like a dark avenging angel leaning up on the wall like that, his cool blue eyes regarding her and his son in her arms with a faint sense of sardonic amusement, his lips quirked in a half- smirk.

He moved forward slowly, still looking at her through his lashes like a tiger when it stalks its prey. Hermione shuddered delicately, half in arousal and half in fear. She nervously licked her lips and watched his eyes zero into that action and turn dark with humid desire….

"Hello Miss. Granger…" he said his rusty voice more of a growl as he reached towards her and pushed her chin up with his finger, examining her eyes and lip and running his passionate gaze over her face, with the heat that Hermione almost felt brushing her soft skin.

Hermione was mesmerized, hypnotized by his sensual eyes and the sinuous movement of his beautifully sculpted lips.

The baby gurgled in delight between them, enjoying this new game between his father and his new friend. But both of them were oblivious to it, their eyes hungrily devouring each other.

That when suddenly the bell above the door rang, but the both of them were only pulled from their trance when they heard a very drunk Ron Weasley slur. "I knew you were cheating on me you little bitch!"

And before Draco could stop him, he smashed his bottle of Fire Whiskey into Hermiones face….

Draco felt all the fury of the day consuming him as he stepped forward, in front of Hermione. In a cold tone he commanded "Get the fuck up Weasley… NOW!" pulling his wand from his pocket.

Getting angrier and angrier as the drunk ranted and screamed.

"You little whore, I put up with you! And you're cheating on me with a fucking death-eater! I should kill you right now." He yelled as he advanced towards Hermione.

Scared Hermione desperately whispered into Draco's ear clutching his hand. "Leave Draco he wants me, you can be safe… just go with Scorpius, I don't want him to get hurt."

Draco gently but firmly pushed her back behind him and told her to comfort the little boy who had begun to cry loud unhappy sobs at the sight of Hermione's bleeding head. A sight that made his blood boil.

"I am giving you one warning…. Leave now Weasley..." he said calmly.

Ron let out a torrent of drunken laughter. "You think I'm scared of you Malfoy… you must have forgotten… I already defeated your kind!" he laughed again, forgetting to notice Draco who coldly pointed his wand at Ron and said a quick Stupefy watching with satisfaction as the bastard crippled to the floor.

Turning back to Hermione and looking at her rocking Scorpius tenderly he blurted out without thinking…

"Come with us to Paris..."

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**_Please don't be a silent reader… PLEASE REVIEW! It makes me sad to see so few reviews! So be nice and leave behind what you think... _**

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**_Next chapter (tit- bits) _**

_"Welcome back to Paris Chapiteaux. Jaquote Malfoi." Said the old man bowing down low. _

_"I told you Renard its just Draco." He said impatiently._

_"You're a Marquees!" said Hermione in shock._

_"A useless title." Draco said carelessly as he led her down the hallway with the care taker._

_"If I may say so mademoiselle Paris suits you… you look __commela plus belle fleur dans un jardin__." __Hermione pinkend at the sweet comments, her soft blush making Draco grin at her._

_"__I think he's right __bien-aimée__, you look radiant." Draco said sliding his muscular arm around her tiny waist and kissing her behind her ear gently..._

_"__Let's go see if Scorpius is awake." She said her cheeks now burning bright red._

_"__So shy ma petit__ange__, just like the sky before dawn__.__" He whispered into her ear and blew softly, laughing silently as she shuddered against him. _

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	7. Chapter 6: My Only Drug

**_Raise Me Up _**

"Draco you cannot be serious?!" Hermione said a tad impatiently as she brushed the glass shards off Scorpius and wiped the warm tears from his rosy cheeks, he gave quite sniffs every now and then as he sucked his thumb and looked at his father and Hermione curiously.

The baby's large blue eyes fluttered shut even as he attempted to stay awake; the bout of sobbing had tired him immensely. He kept his hold possessive on his new friend, his chubby hands clutching her soft sweater.

Hermione made no attempt to remove Scorpius from her arms because his warm weight was comforting and grounding, she breathed in his special clean scent of mango's and coconuts, cradling him in her arms. Her body swaying as she tried to soothe him into sleep.

"Sit down Hermione, your bleeding and the baby is fine, he's almost asleep." Draco said softly as he walked up to the shaken women and gently pushed her down on to one of the chairs. Hermione went without protest, too shocked and tired by the day's events.

Draco went down to her height and lifted her chin tenderly, wincing when he noticed the gash on her forehead, bright crimson blood flowing out of it ,he quickly whipped out his wand and muttered a easy healing spell, noticing with satisfaction as the edges of the wound closed and her delicate features were revealed again.

"I'm not asking for a relationship Granger. You get along well with Scorp and obviously you need to be someplace away from here, Weasley is not going to leave you alone that easily. How long has he been hitting you?" he asked his eyes blazing at her.

"Almost a year now…" she said softly, her dark eyes withdrawn and full of sorrow.

"I left him… but he won't leave me alone. And Draco whatever said and done we were friends once and I loved him once, I know it may sound silly to you, but I didn't want anyone to know of his weakness unless he told them himself. I expected him to sober up by now, see his ridicules mistakes and just grow up. But he just won't stop drinking…"

Draco reached out and brought her hand to his lips, gently pressing his lips to her pulse, feeling it beat against the translucent skin of her wrist. His eyes smoldering and raw… rage mixed with blind desire. She was so delicate… how could he harm her!

"That's not silly sweetheart that's noble, a beautiful sentiment." He said, gently rubbing his thumb over her wrist.

Draco looked up at her face. Her china-doll cheekbones and her fragile fair skin, with its rose pink, ready blush and her large eyes that dripped with kindness and faith, glittering golden, in frail spring sunshine. All of this set in the most heartbreakingly sweet face, with her soft quivering, full lips made a very ethereal and breakable picture. A picture that Ron Weasley had already destroyed and yet a picture that was so right in his life_… __**his son's life**_…

Her arms protectively shielding his child and her voice laced with conviction as she defended the man who beat her within an inch of her life. This was the Hermione Granger he knew, so strong yet achingly gentle, so fierce yet so shatter- able, so shockingly real but yet so delectably aerial.

He never could make out at such moments… if she really belonged in the land of mortals and sinners?

Draco lifted one hand and cupped the side of her face. "If not for me, come for Scorpius, he likes you and it would help him, if he had not just me but another friend in a strange new city… Think about it sweet thing…. Don't say no just yet."

"And before I leave, I need to know. Why did he start beating you?"

"I refused to have sex with him…. I want to get married a virgin, maybe it's just me but I think, her innocence is the greatest gift a woman can give that man she loves." She said quietly, her soft breath caught as she saw Draco's eyes darken with lust.

"You're untouched…" he said in a hoarse whisper. "Completely untouched… like pure snow." Leaning in he brushed his lips over her delicate ear. "If I were the man you loved… I would marry you the moment I knew. Circe! What I would do to be the man you loved!" he said… his voice jagged with desire.

Hermione shivered, her hands reaching out automatically to caress his broad shoulders, her tiny hands dancing teasingly over his massive chest as she looked up at him with her own passion darkened eyes.

"_Mon petitamour_, don't look at me like that!" he said in his husky, velvety steel voice. "I have very little restraint right now and you make me feel like a callow teenager with his first women…"

"I will leave right now… but before I go." Draco said as he bent over her and pressed his hard, sculptured lips to hers. Undoing her defenses with gentle tenderness and exploring the sweetness which were her lips and drinking from the drugging fountain that was the cavern of her mouth.

The Kiss seemed to go on and on as Draco dominated Hermione's body with but a single touch of his lips to hers. Her arms wound themselves helplessly around his neck, both of them mindful of the child in her lap. Draco's large calloused hands moved down her spinal cord gently while at the same time he teasingly brushed the tops of her breasts again and again feeling her quiver in his arms. Chuckling darkly at her soft gasping breaths Draco continued to assault her senses with his warm hallucinatory taste and his bliss inducing kisses. Tiny- tiny, sweet kisses, that blew Hermiones resistance into the wind along with all her thoughts.

This was real magic, the kind that can never be reproduced. This was natural magic, the magic of the Gods. The enchantment of finally having even the slightest taste of the one you belong with… your soul mate…

Hermione moaned softly as he let her go and picked up his son.

His now warm blue eyes glinting with mischief and secret promises as he walked to the door of her shop.

"Think about it _Mon doux petit,_ just think about it..." and saying these words in his rough voice he walked out carrying his son in his arms.

Hermione sat absolutely still as she watched them both disappear into the street, she felt the shocking flushes of arousal... what she had never felt for Ron she felt for Draco Malfoy.

Hermione ran her delicate hand wonderingly over her kiss swollen lips in a dreamy state of euphoria...

Maybe she was going to Paris after all...

...

**_DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! _******


	8. Chapter 7: Marshal and Astoria

**_Hey guys! Okay so don't forget to review and this chapter is slightly dark._**

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**_Raise me up_****_. _**

Astoria blew smoke through her nose and watched it swirl in front of her eyes …her eyes glazed in her drug high; her head lolled forward, her lips lax as she lifted the cigarette from her ash tray. Her long blond hair falling limply around her shoulders as she looked at the assortment of drug paraphernalia on the table with greed in her hard , cold blue eyes.

Her eyes wandering over the neat little rows of Heroin and the dark Russian made chillum filled with the best Hash from Colombia, inhaling the putrid fumes produced by the tobacco, her lips pouted in a moue.

Once upon a time Astoria Greengrass was known as the most beautiful women in the wizerding world and now her pale skin was waxy with drug abuse and her eyes hazed with the constant toxins she was pumping into her body and yet her wide eyes glinted with the greed and malice she was so famous for.

She licked her cracked lips as she bent to pick up a crisp twenty pound note rolled into a tube and brought her head down to the level of the glass topped table in her suite of the Ritz, slowly inhaling the white powdery substance from the top of her tube… she shut her eyes to enjoy the feeling of ecstasy creeping through her veins, her hands trembled as the Heroin entered her blood stream and her heart began to pound hard...

Beside her a long haired youth of about seventeen leaned back into the sofa and slung his arms around her, his lanky frame relaxed as he pressed a joint to his lips and blew smoke through his lips. His scratchy beard covering the major part of his face and his thin physique speaking volumes of the amount of drugs he took.

Marshal crossed his ankles and reached out to blow back the last of the joint though his girlfriend's lips, tugging her forward to press her weed scented lips to his own. His eyes glassy with delirium.

The fog of smoke around them had hardly dissipated though their entire stay in the hotel. And the entire room smelled vile… like death and filth.

"So tell me babe… did you manage to the scare the shit out of your stingy arse ex-husband? Because if you didn't we are gonna to be in a lot of trouble!"

"I know we need the cash darling, I will get it don't worry yourself too much." She said giggling as he reached down and caressed her though her skirt.

"Dwayn said that the gang is getting antsy about its cash baby and you know how nasty they get when we delay." He whispered into her ear, lifting and lighting a fresh cigarette.

"You know what happens if you can't get the cash..."

"I know…" said Astoria in a small voice, her hands latching themselves onto Marshals shirt.

"But I love you… would you seriously leave me?!"

"Baby I ain't gonna stay without the money." He drawled carelessly, "I love you too but I can't love if I'm dead. And that's what the boys are gonna do if I don't pay them. Kill me…. And you ain't worth dying over. The money has to be there or I'll skip town…"

Astoria looked up at him desperately and bent to search for the comforting presence of a drug … any drug…

As soon she felt the rapture of another hit of Heroin, her eyes took on the frenzied look of an insane person.

"I'll get the money!" She convicted with fervor, "Draco loves that little brat… Merlin only knows why but threatening to take him is a sure fire way to get the money …"

"Just make sure he pays you… I don't want no retard brat here with me… you are enough as it is." He drew out threateningly. "And if that don't work we can always find other ways to get the little runt…"

Astoria looked at him with a confused frown…

"I mean kidnap him…. God you're stupid!" he said roughly

"Oh darling that's brilliant!" Astoria cried out... the last of her inhibition's and doubts washed way during her high.

According to her the boy wasn't even supposed to be alive, people like him didn't deserve to live. They were a waste of good resources…

Astoria's heart pounded with happiness as she looked lovingly at Marshal, the man in question looked back at her smirking. His muddy grey eyes glinting with dirty intentions and on his lips curled an evil smile…

This was perfect! This was how she would get back at Draco. He took her life from her and now she would take his retarded son from him and make sure he would pay… not just financially… the amount she asked for would barley create a dip in the never ending sea that was his wealth… no he would pay emotionally… she would break the arrogant bastard and her love would help her do it….

"Get up bitch! I'm thirsty… get me something to drink." Came the sudden snarling voice, breaking her out of her thoughts.

Astoria hurried out if the room, her eyes brimming with happiness at the prospect of getting back at Draco.

Marshal really was the perfect man.

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_I kind of feel really sorry for the Astoria I wrote… disgusted yes but also I pity her… poor deluded girl. __**DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW!**_


	9. Chapter 8: Paris

_Okay so wow…. Just amazing, only eight chapters and such an amazing response. I love all of your reviews so much! I mean I couldn't have hoped for better readers. All the people who have followed this story and favourited it. The story is far from over and I can't wait to see the response to the next few chapters. I just wanted to thank all of you in making my writing such an easy job, your encouragement and comments have been helpful as well as inspiring. 0h and I'm flying out tomorrow… going to my stupid brothers house, okay I'm kidding he's awesome he is just averse to technology so for the next month I can only upload where I get free Wi-Fi but for ya'll I will sit in McDonalds till they throw me out ! Just to upload the next chapters of this story. ;) Oh and Astoria is with someone so young because she is just immature and he is too, so they get each other. _

**_So don't forget to review! _**

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**_Raise Me Up _**

Paris, the city of romance, _la villedu grand amour__, _the land of the lovers. Hermione stared around her in awe, her eyes drinking in the quaint beauty of the ancient buildings around her, the cobblestone walk ways and the lush green trees lining them.

The Magic section of Paris was renovated in the beginning by Bernard_ Poyet_, circa 1791, and then in succession by the rest of the major architects of Paris, the installations made by _Joseph Auguste Émile Vaudremer , _remained till today with his classic gothic and pre-turn century buildings. The most work done in the magic section was during the rule of Napoleon III and was called the _Haussmann Plan,_ His restructuring of Paris gave the city its present form; its long, straight, wide boulevards with their cafés and shops determined a new type of urban scenario.

Hermione had been here before yet Paris was one of those cities that you could live in all your life and not discover its hidden delights. Her wide eyes took in the bustling streets and the busy shoppers chatting away in rapid French, the little old witches who were smoking their long pipes and the young teenagers with their berets and cigarettes. Hermione's eyes wandered around the entire square with its old billboards written in French, it had taken Draco a lot of convincing to get her here but now that she was here she was so glad to have agreed.

But she had vowed that she was not going to get seduced by Draco's charm again. It was far too early, she had just ended one relationship and she felt that she was moving much to fast also she felt guilty like she was betraying Ron, the feelings as ridiculous as they were, were extremely poignant. Not only that, Hermione was scared, yes Draco was an amazing father but from what she had heard he was also a player, he liked his affairs short and meaningless. Hermione wasn't sure she could be like that… one of those girls he just had fun with then dumped.

Her tender heart ached for romance and love, even with all she had been through, her childish dreams of finding her prince charming were strong and her belief of firm, abiding love held her back from indulging in short term relationships.

And with a man like Draco… he was so big, Hermione was terrified. If he decided to hurt her, she was nothing compared to his size! Ron was much shorter than Draco and while she knew he could never hurt her, that tiny pinprick of fear remained, holding her back.

She often wondered if it would be the same always. Would she always hold herself back? Afraid to live? Love? Her life tattered and ripped because of this one episode?

Draco looked down at Hermione, his eyes glowing indulgently as he watched her look in wonder at the beauty of Paris. He was not too bothered with Paris … no his eyes were drinking in _her_ beauty, her grace, her excitement.

Her face was a veritable sea of emotions and he loved to see how each one passed onto it. Like every time she looked at Scorpius, he loved how her lips would pull into a gentle, tender smile, displaying her dimples and crinkling her small nose. How her eyes would grow tender and almost luminous with wonder. Like when she saw something that confused her, how her porcelain brow would crinkle into a frown and her lips would pout out as she figured it out. Her beautiful face was like the map of a secret isle, and he wanted to discover the hidden treasure that lay below the surface. Draco had never felt this way before; he hungered for time alone with her, starved for it. He was like a thirsty man in a desert when it came to her. He longed to grab her and kiss her, plunder her luscious mouth with his own and feel her give in to him, he wanted to feel her tiny body pressed to his, the pleasure he could give to her was endless. And his desire for her grew day by day, like an ever fanned inferno….

Suddenly he felt his son stir in his arms, rubbing his eyes with his chubby fists. His large blue eyes looking lovingly up at his father, Draco pressed his son close and kissed his curly blond hair, rocking him gently and tickling his plump little body.

As she heard him giggle, Hermione looked up at Scorpius and smiled her special smile for him. Scorpius gurgled happily at her, reaching towards her, his arms open…

Hermione lifted up the little boy into her arms and hugged him close to her. Her eyes focused solely on him so that she didn't have to look up at Draco and give away what she was feeling, Scorpius slapped his small warm hands to her cheeks, and his happy grin melting all of Hermione's worried away. She had fallen deeply in love with this little boy and now she was afraid she was falling in love with his father too…

"Hello lovebug, did you have a nice nap?" she cooed to him, gently swaying soothingly.

Draco looked at his son and the object of his desire and felt a sharp prick of something… She was perfect… and he was afraid to fall in love with her, but what scared him even more was that maybe… just maybe he thought, he was already in love with her…

"Lunch." Draco said gruffly, shocked at the direction his thoughts had taken. "Let's have lunch and then explore the delights of Paris, its Scorpius's time to eat and sweet thing you look like a stiff breeze could blow you away."

Hermione pinkend at his husky words and peeked up at him, her face hidden in the baby's soft, clean smelling blond hair.

Draco slid his massive arm around her and pulled her to his chest, keeping them both protectively huddled to him as they walked into the crowded town square. Hermione kept her hold tight on the little child, because she knew that Scorpius had a tendency to run away to explore. While she thanked the saints every day that he happened to walk into her shop she didn't want him getting lost here.

There was a crisp bite in the air and Draco and Hermione seated themselves in one of the cafés lining the street.

"_Bonne journée! Mon nom est Amy et sera votre serveur aujourd'hui!_" Said a bubbly blond girl, walking up to them with a tray held in her hands and a wide grin on her face.

"Order please Draco, I cannot speak more than a few words in French." Hermione said softly, too busy playing with the baby.

"_Bonjour__Amy je pense que nous aurons les croissants et confiture de cerise avec quelques farine d'avoine pours mon fils s'il vous plaît._" Draco said with a smile, looking at the small child in front of him distracted with the toys.

The young waitress walked off with their order, Draco put one gentle finger under Hermiones chin and lifted her face to his and smirked at her, his sensual lips quirked into a half smile.

"Don't avoid looking at me sweet thing, I love seeing your beautiful eyes... _vos_ _yeux__sont magiques, et vous êtes une enchanteresse mon ange__." _

Hermione blushed a deep red and averted her eyes shyly and was rewarded with the sound of his rich chuckle, he had such a beautiful voice... Like it was dipped in Fire Whiskey and Chocolate.

"What does that mean?" she whispered.

"Come closer." He said leaning towards her, his slumberous eyes glinting with intention. Hermione leaned towards him, caught in his sensual spell.

"Closer darling... or I shan't tell you..." Hermione leaned closer still, till she could feel his warm sweet breath, hitting her ear lobe.

"It means... that your eyes are magic and they enchant me all day long. They make me want to kiss you, love you... have you all to myself..." he said his voice dropping an octave with every word he uttered. Hermione curled back... startled not by his words but by her reaction to them, she waited for her heart beat to stop racing before looking up at him, almost smacking him when he winked at her jokingly.

But his eyes didn't joke... no they showed her the evidence of his desire, how serious he was when he said what he did...

The waitress picked the perfect time to interrupt, plonking down their food and effectively breaking the spell between them...

"_I love the night passionately. I love it as I love my country, or my mistress, with an instinctive, deep, and unshakeable love. I love it with all my senses: I love to see it, I love to breathe it in, I love to open my ears to its silence, and I love my whole body to be caressed by its blackness. Skylarks sing in the sunshine, the blue sky, the warm air, in the fresh morning light. The owl flies by night, a dark shadow passing through the darkness; he hoots his sinister, quivering hoot, as though he delights in the intoxicating black immensity of space. _" Draco said suddenly.

"Think about that darling, that is what Paris does to people. Don't resist the intoxication of _falling in love in Paris_..."

* * *

**_DONT FORGET TO REVIEW! _**


	10. Chapter 9 : Deal With the Devil

_**Hey you guys I was not able to see who all reviewed and all but I have to say as usual the response was more than I deserve, thank you all for being so supportive. **_

_**Don't forget to review! **_

…_**.**_

_**Raise Me Up**_

Astoria wrapped her cloak tight around her shoulders, it was almost midnight and she was sneaking out of the room in the Ritz in a hurry, Marshal was still fast asleep. She had just heard back from her lawyer's, Draco was not going to settle out of court, he knew that he would win and she didn't want to tell Marshal , his temper was a terrible thing when aroused.

Gregory Greengrass had refused her money the third time this month. Her father's business was drowning… badly, not that it made much of a difference to her. He was already refusing her money….

Her meeting today would determine her future; she was desperate now… she had to get the money or else she knew she had no chance of keeping Marshal with her.

She walked out of the costlier sections of London towards the low lying slums, her long hair whipped out behind her in the brisk, icy wind. Astoria's breath rose in foggy patterns from her lips as she moved silently though the dirty by –lanes and back alleys of the old broken down houses.

Rats and mangy dogs scuttled away from her clacking heels, thin starved cats hissed at her as they guarded the upturned garbage bins with feral ferocity.

Astoria ignored all of that, her thoughts preoccupied with her meeting and the outcome of it.

Slowly she came to rest in front of an old green door with a pealing, golden number 4 written on it. She lifted her hand hesitantly, steeling herself she knocked with force. Her eyes shifting uneasily around her surroundings.

"Who goes here?" came a rough, hoarse voice. A man with a squint looked out suspiciously. Astoria looked at his bald head and massive body, covered in rolls of fat, his blunt fingers which clutched a mean looked cleaver in fear.

"Well hello pretty lady, you're better than the last whore they sent me." He said with a lascivious sneer, his piggy little eyes roving over her body in greedy hunger.

Astoria breathed in a shocked gasp and said in a halting voice. "I'm no whore; I am here to see Skinner…"

"That's what all them whores say." He said coldly, "Why are you here to see Slink?"

Astoria gave him a cold look and pulled out a pouch of galleons from between her breasts, and then adjusting her gown into place she glared at him. "I have a job for him."

"Though here…" said the bald man.

Astoria entered the dingy room with small hesitant steps; it smelled putrid with the scent of dried blood and old unwashed socks.

As she surveyed the room , she felt a clammy hand press itself hard into her skin and turned to see an handsome dark haired youth smirking down at her, his cold green eyes looking at her as if he was mentally stripping her naked.

"I believe you're looking for me…"

"You're Skinner?" she asked shocked.

"At your service ma'am… a pretty lady like you can call me Slink…"

"I have a job for you, something that will pay well."

The young man led her to a back room hidden by a dirty curtain.

He went and sat down, leaning back insolently against the on the chair and gestured her to have a seat on the remaining chair.

"My advance is 10,000 galleons. You have to know that before we go any further."

"I don't have enough, but I can assure you with this job done you will have a massive pay check."

"Get the money first before we talk." He said his hard eyes glinting coldly at her.

Astoria spluttered, "Do you know who I am?"

"I know exactly who you are and it changes nothing…. Bring the money and then we talk." Getting up he grabbed her upper arm and walked towards the door.

Astoria was still in shock when she was pushed out coldly from the dirty old house; she shook her head in despair and began to walk away.

She swept through the alleyways thinking of a way to get more money until a dark figure stopped her short, blocking her exit from the alley.

"I believe I can help Greengrass… we have the same problem." Said a familiar voice though the recesses of the hood covering its face.

"Who is it?" she cried out frightened, her shaking hand going to the wand at her waist.

The shadow moved forward and dropped the hood and into the light came the gaunt, haggard face of _Ron Weasley_….

…

_**Im so sorry its short, I didn't have any time and it was written in a hurry. So spare me whatever mistakes and please review!**_


	11. Chapter 10: Contemplate

_**Rise Me Up**_

"But Fergus was different, he was not like all the other trolls who liked to fight with their clubs and hit each other, see Fergus was smaller than them and he like to just look at the mountains and the human and wonder how would it be live with them, he was not like his brothers and sisters who hated humans, he liked humans especially the young children of his age who played altogether…. Fergus always thought that their games were so much more fun than just playing with clubs. But Fergus couldn't say this in his tribe as his father was the chief and he wanted a strong boy to rule when he was gone. So Fergus stayed quiet and just looked at the children having fun and dreamed that one day he too could join them. He dreamed that one day he too could be a part of those tea-parties where they ate small bright cakes and played with those pretty dolls that looked almost like real human and he dreamed that one day he could play cricket with the little boys of his age in the lanes of town, that one day he too would be accepted odd as he looked by the humans." Hermione read softly looking down at the small boy whose soft pink lips were now puckered in a deep sleep, she gently ran her hands through his soft curls and his tender skin as he shifted his little body on the bed. He was so precious, Scorpius…

Hermione wondered how Astoria could walk away from him; she didn't want to judge … maybe she had her reasons. Hermione could understand , after all there would be hundreds of women who would condemn her for not being able to stick up for Ron when he was going through a hard time, but in the end her need to survive won to her need of his love.

That was the reason she was scared to get into another relationship so fast, she needed control in her life, she craved it and a relationship was a two way street and right now there was no leeway to be given in her life.

Her head hurt, all day today she had been thinking, mulling over the possibilities of her and Draco. She knew he had said that there would be no intimate contact between them on this trip; she knew he had said that they would not have a relationship that all she was here for was Scorpius but she had trouble believing him, if not him then herself.

She knew now that she wanted Draco as much more than a friend, she was an honest enough woman to admit that.

A friend's kisses don't make you tingle and see the heavens. A friend's touch doesn't send bolts of sparkling energy through you. A friend's company is not one you crave with the blinding hunger she craved Draco's. No he was not her friend…

She thought about how long they would keep playing this charade; maybe it was for the best, with Scorpius in the picture she knew they couldn't just fool around and walk away as unlikely friends. Besides her heart wept at thought of 'fooling around' with Draco. With Scorpius in the picture, they had to be cautious, careful. His needs were special and he needed stability, it would be confusing and upsetting for him to see women walking in and out of his father's life, a father who he loved so immensely…

Yes… it was infinitely better for Scorpius and safer for her if she just remained his friend. But then why did tears fill her eyes when she thought of him with another woman? Why did her breath catch painfully when she thought of someone else being a mother to Scorpius? It WAS better she tried to convince herself, she was just sad at the thought of losing the little baby she had now come to love so much.

Her hands left the book in her lap as they unconsciously reached for the baby, her hands protectively soothing his curls, the tears came back as she thought of another women doing exactly what she was doing right now.

Scorpius opened his bright blue eyes and looked up at her with a sleepy smile, his soft lips beginning to quiver at the distress displayed on her face. Hermione picked him and hushed him softly, apologizing for waking him, cradling him to her breasts as she swayed. His plump hands clumsily wiped the tears from her face as he cooed to her in an attempt to comfort her. His wide eyes trusting and loving as they looked up at her. Hermione's tears began run down her cheeks harder, the more time she spent with this child the more she fell in love with him.

Suddenly a warm arm circled her waist and she was pulled back into a hard chest, the soothing musky scent of woodsmoke and green apples entranced her senses.

"Why the tears?" came Draco's husky voice as he bent low to whisper into her ear. Hermione shook her head mutely and turned away.

"You don't have to tell me now sweething … but soon.." he husked , gently pushing her closer to himself and walking to the window where the moonlight was streaming into the room.

Draco put his arms around Hermione and pressed his lips onto her neck his arms around her in a gentle yet hard embrace , Scorpius between them. As he swayed gently.

And that's where they stood in silence, breathing each other in…

….

Sorry for any mistakes


	12. Chapter 11: Fragments

Hey ya'll I missed you guys. I know it's been a long time since I uploaded but don't forget to review please spare me the mistakes, as I'm uploading from my cell phone and I really can't edit.

…..

_**Raise Me Up **_

_Draco got up of the stone road in front of Gringott's, his hand reaching out to wipe the blood seeping out of mouth. His big body shaking with anger, but he didn't move. Ron Weasley stood in front of him his eyes wild with hate and his breath putrid and stale with the smell of cheap liquor. _

_The Red head had pushed Potter back when he had tried to restrain him. Ginny Weasley had thankfully picked up his baby son before he could fall and hurt himself, her brother had barley regarded Draco's son in his arms. _

_Draco was seething but he wouldn't hit. Right now his primary concern was his son who was sobbing loudly…. That was all he could hear, in the background he heard Potter and his girlfriend yelling at Weasley and trying to pull him away from Draco, a large mob had gathered around the group and Ron just roared in anger at Harry and Ginny's attempts to pacify him. And suddenly a harsh yell penetrated into Draco's conscience._

"_Fuck the Malfoy brat! Do you think I care if he falls and his skull spits open?! Motherfucking let me go!" he heard the twit yell._

_Draco felt red hot rage running through his veins, his hands twitched; he wanted to strangle the idiot. Instead he just moved fast and took his wailing son from Ginny's arms, his hands protectively cradling the infant. Draco was too busy soothing his son, to notice Ron break away from Potter and lunge forward…._

…_.._

"_I'm so sorry for what my brother did, seriously Draco… can I call you Draco?" Ginny Potter stuttered nervously._

"_I apologize for Ron, Malfoy. And I'm sorry your son got so upset." Potter held out his right hand to help Draco up, running his left hand through his unruly black hair. His bright green eyes remorseful behind the round frame of his glasses._

"_If he hadn't been drinking so much…" Ginny tried to explain, as Draco took Harry's hand got up, brushing his black trousers._

_Draco smiled gently at the lively young woman in front of him who was giving him a guilty smile of her own, letting her know that he forgave her._

_Weasley lay in a heap on the ground; Potter had hexed him as soon as he laid the hands of Draco._

_And there for everyone to see a tentative friendship was forged, former enemies, enemies' no more… not quite friends yet but the hate of the past was washed away. _

_And as Draco walked away with his son in his arms, a single though rang out as clear as a bell in his mind._

"_Never underestimate the power of an apology…"_

…

_Draco's head was spinning in shock; he was sitting in the Pediatric Healers office in Saint Mungo's. He needed a drink, something strong ….. Very strong._

"_Could you please repeat that?" he said in a faint voice, looking at his one year old son playing quietly in the corner with a look of absolute pain on his face._

"_I am very sorry Mister. Malfoy but we have no idea what this is. We cannot help you; neurogenesis and neurogenetic disorders are very rare in our society. As small as our community is, there are certain diseases, disorders, ailments that we have never contacted. Therefore while the process of healing is much faster in the wizerding community our knowledge is severely limited as compared to the muggles. The muggle's on the other hand are very well versed in most medical fields; the growth of their population has brought to light several till now unknown disorders and might I add to most of them they have found cures too also there are certain diseases that have evolved along with man. The only advices I can give you is please go and see a muggle healer, I'm afraid we can no longer be of any use to you in the matter of your son." The old healer said to him, feeling a degree of pity for the young father who sat in front of her shaking in his seat._

_For once the perfect wall containing Draco's emotions came crashing down, a single tear leaked out of his tightly shut eyes, as if he was trying to convince himself it was all a bad dream. _

_But he was pulled out of his tortured thoughts as he heard the soft coo of his son, Scorpius had crawled up to his father and was tugging on his pant leg, his wide blue eyes looking up lovingly at his father._

_Draco picked up his son and pressed him close, breathing in his special baby scent, kissing the top of his downy head, the baby reached out to run his hands over his father's face, comforting him in his own unique way._

_Draco knew firmly that whatever the 'doctor' told him would not change what he felt for Scorpius. He loved his son so much, much more than his father had ever loved him. _

_Draco knew that Lucius would be vivid at having a grandson with a mental disorder; he would rip apart his cell in Azkaban in his fury. _

_But Draco didn't care, after he had served his sentence in Azkaban because of his father's mistakes, Draco had walked away and never looked back. And when Draco looked at Scorpius playing happily, he swore …. Swore… that he would never do anything that would make his son disappointed in him. He never wanted to see the light go out of his son's eyes and he never wanted his son to follow his ideals, he wanted Scorpius to grow up freely and not like a guilder peacock locked in a prison of gold like he had been. He wanted Scorpius to build his own path. _

_And he knew that he would love his son however he chose to live his life…. _

…_.._

_Draco slowly walked into the cool office of the muggle healer whose name the pediatric healer at Saint Mungo's had given. He was supposed to be one of the best in the world and he specialized in neurogenetic disorders in children, Draco was very nervous but Scorpius's warm body in his arms kept him grounded. He was in an unfamiliar territory; Harry had helped him out, understanding some of the important things used by muggle's. But he was still intensely uncomfortable._

_A young woman in a bright yellow scrub top covered in laughing teddy-bears greeted him and led him to a massive door that read._

_**Xander Ivankowitch **__- M.D, Neurology, Pediatrics and Neo-Natal Sciences (Practicing) _

_Draco pushed the door open and walked in, and was greeted by the sight of a man, in his late thirty's, short with keen dark eyes that followed every move he made, his hooked nose and sharp mouth were twisted into a semblance of a smile._

"_Forgive me, if I don't rise to greet you." He said in a raspy voice with a thick Russian accent, which spoke of his origin and frequent use of cigarettes._

_Draco was shocked at his words but soon understood as he wheeled himself out from behind his desk, his strong chest and short but bulky arms hid the lack of legs. In the place where his legs were meant to be were two stumps._

"_Polio." He said with a rueful shrug, his hands reaching out to caress his full blond mustache._

"_Have a seat please Mr. Malfoy. If I may be bold?" he said in his raspy voice. Draco indicated with his hand to continue._

"_Draco... May I call you Draco? You look like you're in desperate need of a drink." He said with a chuckle and reached behind him to pour out a healthy measure of some clear liquid into a cut crystal tumbler._

_Draco was starting to reconsider…. maybe this was not the right healer for Scorpius but before he could get up Ivankowitch pushed the glass toward him._

"_Finest Russian Vodka, it'll help with the chill in this godforsaken building. Go on…" He urged._

_Draco eyes the glass apprehensively before shrugging and tipping it back into his throat and feeling it burn its way into his stomach. _

"_Good huh?" asked the Russian with a grin._

"_My son…" began Draco…_

"_Mr. Malfoy… Draco there is little you can do for your son and even less that I can do before we get the test results back. I assume you went through the required list of exams and tests and had them done with my recommended Radiologist?" _

_Draco nodded mutely._

"_Very well then." Said the other man with a smile on his face. "So then what this young man's name?" he asked grinning at the baby who was hiding his face shyly in his father's neck._

…_.._

"_It could be Cerebral Palsy or Cirux -De –Chat. Draco the tests were very generalized." Said Xander shaking his head._

_As the two of them discussed the possibility's Draco spotted his son whose face was pressed as usual to the aquarium, the doctor who had seen this too by now, looked at the father confused._

"_Does he do this often?" He asked_

"_He loves water." Draco said helpfully as Xander wheeled himself closer to the little baby._

"_Fascinating…" said the doctor rubbing his blond whiskers thoughtfully. "Draco my boy, I think I know what it is…. It's rare and I have only seen a few cases of it before. They may have been more but were miss-diagnosed. I think he has Angleman syndrome…"_

…

"_A one day trip to Saint Tropez Hermione please and Scorpius loves the beach." Draco cajoled, his charm turned on high._

"_Now Draco that just not fair you're blackmailing me by using Scorpius as leverage." She cried, her hands covering her eyes and her fingers in her ears. "You're trying to charm me into going, so I'm not listing to you… la la la la la…" she said as he pulled her hands from her eyes._

"_Please…"_

…_.._

I should have listened to her …. Was Draco's last though as he felt some one hit him on the back of his head and just before he fell he heard Hermione's frantic screams and Scorpius loud cries of fear. He saw his life flash slowly before his eyes, black and white before he met Hermione in the most wonderful accident of his life. She slowly filled it with color.

And I should have listened to her….

….

**Don't forget to review!**__


	13. Chapter 12: Putting the Pieces Together

_**I have amazing readers! The reactions you all gave me were EPIC :P, Seriously okay I know all of you are saying 'has she gone nuts ? What sort of a chapter was that?' the exact reaction I was aiming for.**_

_**As for some of the reviews, the story will progress as I choose it to; I don't reveal answers to certain questions and enquiries, not because I'm careless but because I have a better time to reveal them. I ask you to be critical not mean. As an author you have to respect the story I am writing, telling me it could be better executed if someone else wrote it is just nasty. If the said reviewers have an issue with this story, I recommend you don't read it. The questions that all of you ask me are answered in the last chapter if you look carefully and the questions to this chapter are answered in this one.**_

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_**Raise Me Up **_

_**Friday (The Day before…)**_

Hermione eyed Draco apprehensively from across the dining table, yesterday's break down was a mistake, he didn't say anything but his eyes …

His silvery orbs of emotion's swirled with flecks of blue standing out in sharp relief, the shift …. He felt it too.

There was a new awareness … her eyes danced away from his face as her cheeks warmed with a soft blush, the warm red rushing to her face in a charming display of her innocence.

"The sugar… could you please pass me the sugar?" she said softly, touching him was a mistake so she tried to keep her hands away from his, yet as he handed her the glazed brown bowl , his hand brushed her's softly eliciting a gasp from her.

Hermione felt an arrow of pure electricity run up her arm, the origin … Draco's fingers.

Draco could hear her breath hitch and felt his heart respond to her's , pounding in his chest the same way her's fluttered like a mad thing at the base of her neck .

The room crackled with lightning as the both of them drew a breath at the same time, Draco's eyes piercing as he looked at her and Hermione's eyes shaded with shyness .

This was desire at its sweetest… he had never felt so intune with another human being … her every short, gasping breaths as his, every thump of her heartbeat like his own , every thought of her's syncing and immersing itself into his , her emotion his….

They shifted towards each other as if in a trance… well as close as they could get with the table in the way.

Draco shifted carefully, capturing her eyes with his own and holding her there with the sheer wealth of emotion in them, treating her as one would treat a fragile, rare thing … like a doe in the forest…. One false move and she would bolt.

Hermione looked into Draco's eyes; it was like she was seeing them for the first time all over again but this time they were not shuttered…. This time she could see each individual speck of bright blue as they danced a hypnotizing tango entrancing her, each emotion as he felt it.

Draco's eyes told her he felt from his soul… his were not shallow emotions and petty pains… his were pains felt to the very core of his being …. Shaking his essence. His were emotions of a tortured man, a man who didn't wish to feel as much as he did.

Soul deep and rare to the surface…

The vivid, frantic ever changing, charged energy shifted and morphed as each of them lost themselves to their thoughts.

Worlds away yet ever so close… existing in a dream like agility with a mere splash of reality. For how can it be real to be so immersed in a person who you barley know?

The sound of soft yawns and whimpers coming from the room closest to them indicated Scorpius presence, breaking the tentative limbo they existed in. The energy remained… it just hid till it could capture the both of them alone again…

Draco got up of the table with the sensual grace of a panther stretching its sheathed muscles, the latent energy around him crackled like a force of its own … secluding him.

His smile was warm… predatory yet oh so thrilling… Hermione felt it caress her core in a manner she had never felt before… it woke something in her, primal and raw trying to scratch its way out of her skin…

Hermione struggled to catch her breath as Draco smirked and walked into his son's bed room. Scorpius was awake, rubbing his eyes with his chubby fists to clear the remnants of sleep as they tried to pull him back to dream land.

Draco picked him up and cuddled him close, kissing his pink cheeks and pressing his lips briefly to his soft blond –white hair.

Hermione stood close watching the father and son caught in their own world, the special world that parents and children were only privy too..

Again Hermione felt a sharp ache in her chest, like an arrow had been plunged into her heart, the pain very nearly made her reel over, washing away the bits of the morning's thoughts that lingered in her mind.

Draco caught only a fleeting glance of the terrible pain on her face before she hid it… she was excellent at hiding emotions, an art she had learned when she had to lie for Ron and the bruises decorating her body, like a patchwork of purple.

Scorpius spotted her and reached for her, his wide eyes happy and carefree… and Hermione lost herself for a few moments in his simply emotions … they granted her respite from her thoughts…

….

"A one day trip to Saint Tropez Hermione please and Scorpius loves the beach." Draco cajoled, his charm turned on high. Hermione shook her head as she cradled the freshly bathed baby in her arms, her warm mocha eyes glinting with laughter.

"That's silly Draco!"

"This face… just look at this face." He pleaded boyishly, picking up his son and pressing his cheek to his own, "How can you say no to this face?" he said grinning. Sure he had won the battle.

"Now Draco that just not fair you're blackmailing me by using Scorpius as leverage." She cried, her hands covering her eyes and her fingers in her ears. "You're trying to charm me into going, so I'm not listening to you… la la la la la…" she said as he pulled her hands from her eyes.

He grinned wickedly… "Did you just do that!? Seriously… please Hermione. You need a break, I can see it."

"A vacation from my vacation?" she said sarcastically.

"Exactly! I couldn't have put it better." He grinned

"Please."

"Fine." She screamed throwing her hands into the air, giving up.

…..

**The Present (Saturday)**

This was a bad idea though Hermione as she looked over Draco's shirtless chest, her pulse going mad inside her sensible cotton shirt.

Hermione sat shaded by a massive umbrella watching Draco and Scorp frolic on the private stretch of beach owned by Draco, when he told her that he owned a getaway house next to the beach with a private stretch of sand… she had not been the least bit surprised.

Of course he owned a bit of the beach… it was perfectly normal and when she had said this out loud he had just laughed at her and told her not to get too jealous…

Okay she though again this was a really bad idea, as she spotted Draco getting out of the water brushing his shaggy blond hair back unaware of the tiny droplets of water glinting on his hard chest and silky packed abdomen, that seemed to clench with every breath he took.

A very bad idea didn't even begin to describe it….

Suddenly she felt a smooth cloth being pressed onto her face and restricting her breathing, she tried to struggles away, fighting, pushing! Just as she was passing out she managed to push her assailant away just long enough to yell out a warning to Draco… "Take the baby and run Draco….!"

How could she forget her wand was her last though as she felt unconsciousness tug on her eye lids, guiding her away from the light….

Before Draco could reach for his wand left in piles of his clothing, he heard the loud wails of his son whose neck was being pressed by a man dressed in black wearing a harlequin mask.

"One move Mr. Malfoy and your little retard here dies a slow painful death…" said a cool voice, calm and collected.

And just as he held his hands up, he felt the crash of a heavy object hitting his skull….

Draco's eyes shut as memories began to assault his senses and as he fell his eyes sought out his son, relieved to see him alive…. He crashed.

….

Where is my daddy? Thought the little blond boy as he looked around the smelly place where the silly man had brought him… he wanted his daddy! Loud, gasping sobs made their way out of the little boy's throat… HE WANTED HIS DADDY!

"Shut the hell up, ye brat!" said the big one, who smelled bad… he was coming towards Scorpy with his big hand high…

"Now Now Yan…. Is that anyway to treat out guest?" came the soft voice of the man with the blue eyes; he liked the man with the blue eyes except when he smiled, because he had pointy teeth like the monsters in Scorpy's book.

But they were ugly and the man with the blue eyes was nice looking and he laughed often, not the kind of laugh his Miss, Mione laughed but a soft one like he knew a secret.

He knew secrets too, like he was going to have a mommy….!

Miss. Mione! And for a bit Scorpius forgot where he was and just focused on his happy thoughts, thinking of him and Hermione and his daddy….

_Flit, flutter dance from the surface_

_To the deep chasm_

_Within the reflections her ghost runs her shadow hands,_

_Along the cerulean surface_

_Reflections… reflections… waters reflections_

_Burnish me silver _

_Can your ghost live in reverse, lighting her shadowy reflections _

_Twirling between night and day._

_Reflections… reflections… a mirrors reflections._

_The angel, the devil _

_The evil lurk among the shadows _

_The good dance to the light…_

_Your ghost with her heart of two _

_Reflections… reflections… the glasses reflection._

_The dagger or poison._

_To wilt or to flame away in glory._

_Am I soft light or velvet darkness?_

_Reflections …. Reflections…_

_Is that not your soul's reflection? _

….

_**Don't forget to review! I added the poem because I felt it was apt.**_


	14. Chapter 13: Her Price To Pay

_**Raise Me Up **_

Draco lifted himself up with difficulty, blood streaming out of his mouth in a steady gush. The sun hurt his eyes, almost blinding him and he reached behind to his head to feel his hair matted with blood, sticky and thick... putrid...

He could barley move, sometime in between his fight with the massive ham-fisted man he had passed out due to blood loss, but before he fainted he had heard Hermione screaming and Scorpius crying.

He had no idea where they were and what was happening to them, he dropped his head in despair feeling each individual grain of sand rub his skin raw as he tried... tried to remember what happened, he was numb... he couldn't feel his legs much less move them but with an almost inhuman effort he pushed himself up on his aching arms.

The scene that met his eyes was that of total devastation, Hermione's bag and clothes were ripped into shreds and her wand lay broken on the ground beside the remnants of her clothing, Draco could see large splotches of blood covering the rug she was sitting on... his heart gave a faint thump and his dry mouth tightened in silent fear.

But Scorpius's things on the other hand were arranged almost meticulously, the men who attacked them had taken his bag of food and toys. Draco had a fair idea who it was. There was only one person who would want no harm to come to the little boy for her own selfish reasons but why take Hermione? To send Draco a message?

The sun was scorching brighter and brighter and as much as he tried to resist, he couldn't stay awake much longer...

_It hurt far too much... _

...

Hermione lay gagged, strong iron chains were clasped around her legs and hands. The shackles bit into her skin, and the more she struggled the more she felt the manacles cut into her skin, drawing blood...

She screamed into the gag, her mind going over the non verbal spells she could use to get herself out of his situation...

Out of the blue, Hermione felt a clammy hand slide up the skirt of her dress and the familiar noxious smell of cheap liquor permeated her senses.

A voice rasped into her ear, the breath wet and stinking, "What you wouldn't give me willingly, you would give to Malfoy you little slut... pretending to be virgin, guarding that cunt of yours like there's the gold of the world hidden there. What did you think? That I'd just let you go so easily... Tsk... Tsk _Hermione _, have you forgotten that you belong to me..."

Ron stepped into the light, his eyes feral and half-mad and his bloodless lips drawn into mocking sneer. His ginger hair was matted and he stank of Fire-Whiskey and Marijuana. His eyes were stripping her obscenely and his hand kept going to his crotch, stroking himself lewdly.

Hermione shuddered hard, the chains rattling with the force of her shivers. Ron just laughed, a high cruel laugh, his bloodshot blue eyes darkening with arousal.

He reached forward and tugged the gag from her lips... "Anything to say whore before I take you and wipe that filthy death-eater from your soft little mind?"

Hermione spat at him as he lifted the gag, her dark mocha eyes glinting with sparks of anger she screamed out...

"So you can't find someone to be with, who'll take your disgusting shit so you need to kidnap a girl just to get a fuck... you are a pathetic excuse of a man! And Draco is hundred times the man you can ever be! And if you rape me or so much as touch me... so help me God Ronald I will castrate you, I will personally come using a knife and trust you me, it will hurt... and I won't spare you." She yelled out.

Ron just smirked and came closer to her, his hands sliding up her struggling body to her breasts, and cruelly he pinched her nipples causing her scream out loud in agony. His left hand rising, as he gave her tight slap across her face, so hard that blood flew out of her mouth...

"Then its good I'll do it while you're tied up, isn't it?"

...

_**Review! **_


	15. Chapter 14: Friend's Discover

_**Raise Me Up **_

"Harry dear, I'm getting worried, Draco is not answering any Floo calls and even my owls are returning with their letters unopened." Ginny said to her husband, her hands worrying the cup of tea in front of her. Harry Potter looked up from the Daily Prophet, pushing his glasses up his nose and frowning.

"You're right... it's the same with Hermione, it's making me really uneasy. They have been gone over two weeks and not one letter or Floo call that is just not like Hermione. She knows I worry." He said putting the newspaper down and looking at his wife with green eyes glazed with worry.

Ginny looked up the stairs and called out loudly. "James darling can you come down here please?"

"Am I in trouble?" came a little voice as the little brown eyed boy looked down the banister at his parents.

They just shook their heads and James grinned sliding down the railing of the stairs in glee, "Son, did auntie Hermione or Uncle Draco call to talk to you, or maybe give the call to Scorpius?"

He just shook his head and Harry and Ginny looked at each other with scared eyes.

"Ginny..." Harry started.

"I'll call Blaise just now." She finished for him, hurrying towards the fireplace.

* * *

Blaise Zabini ran a hand over his dark brown hair in frustration, loosening out his deep green silk tie and unbuttoning the jacket of his hand stitched dove gray Italian suit, he looked at his red haired friend, "I know right, I was going to call you just now. Then I though maybe I was being paranoid... I mean its Draco for Merlin's sake it's not like he's not disappeared before. But..."

"But never with Scorpius, he always tells one of us where he is going. He said it himself its much to dangerous not to." Said Harry. "Is there something?" he asked Blaise.

"The custody battle..." he began, but Ginny cut him off.

"The custody battle." She scoffed, "Draco was not settling out of court and you both know that, this was just another one of Astoria's cheap tricks to humiliate him and what judge in his or her right mind would grant HER custody. She abandoned the baby and Draco. And it's not like she hasn't got money of her own, why the hell would she go after Draco's?"

Blaise's eyes widened in shock, "I think I know... I'm carrying the file with me." He said, reaching for his leather satchel and rooting through it till he found the desired file and handed it to Harry.

As husband and wife read on, their expressions morphed from pity to disgust and then to outright anger.

"So daddy dearest isn't giving our favourite evil bitch money to pay of her drug debts?" Ginny sneered.

"I'm afraid Gregory doesn't have the money, Greengrass Potions and Herbs, is going out of business and fast. The result: sever mismanagement and over spending. I think when it goes onto the chopping block Draco is going to relish taking over it." Blaise said.

"But honestly both of you... do you really think Astoria would kidnap her own son?" Harry asked sceptically.

"Draco never does talk much about why she walked out on him; I just always assumed it was because Scorpius was bore with Angelman's." Blaise said rubbing a handsome long fingered hand over his eyes.

"Don't assume, more often than not it leads to mistakes." Harry shook his head.

"We could ask Mrs. Malfoy..." Ginny said.

* * *

"Blaise darling what a pleasant surprise, and you too Ginny and Harry. What brings you here to Wiltshire?" Narcissa Malfoy greeted them warmly, opening the manor's doors dressed in a sunny yellow dress. "Would you like some tea, and Cookie just made some fresh honey scones which smell absolutely divine."

The three of them nodded, and headed to the sunny patio where Narcissa usually took her tea.

"Mrs. Malfoy..." Blaise began wiping the crumbs of the delicate sweet from his silk suit,

"We need to ask you something and we don't want to hurt you. But you need to be truthful with us." Harry said, looking at the older women with a gentle smile.

"Is Astoria capable of harming Draco and Scorpius and Hermione?" Ginny butted in.

"What's the matter? Has something happened to my son or my grandson or Miss. Granger?" she questioned with bewildered fear.

"We don't exactly know it's just a hunch... an uneasy feeling if you will. Because Draco has not being answering our letter or Floo calls and that is just not like him and the same goes with Hermione. Hermione is like my sister and I know her habits inside out, this is weird behaviour for her." Harry said to the older women.

"And you're thinking Astoria, because Draco is not settling out of court in the custody case?" Narcissa deduced shrewdly.

The three of them nodded in unison.

"Well I think you're on the right path, I regret the day I introduced her to my son, trust me when I say I love my grandson to bits but the pain she caused him and Draco was just too harsh to put into words. And she hated that little boy... Hated him... so when you say she may have had something to do with this, I cannot agree more, that woman is malicious, vicious and heartless. I have never seen a colder woman in my life; she has a glacier in place of her heart and ice water flowing though her veins instead of blood. And make no mistake, Astoria is not stupid. Her mind is as sharp as a knife and she know the best way to get her work done and her temper is vicious when aroused." Narcissa shivered even in the bright sunlight.

"She has abused and ravaged my son's heart and tortured my poor baby grandson for no fault of his, but no one can touch her because of the mere fact that she has her father's money on her side." She said, dabbing her eyes delicately with her white lace handkerchief.

"I think we need to go to France." Harry said to his wife with a scared expression on his face.

* * *

IMPORTANT NOTE

This is just a filler chapter, meant to answer any questions you have. I am sorry for the mistakes but I am uploading from my cell-phone. Don't forget to review_**, it means a LOT to me. **_


	16. Chapter 15: The Letter

_**Raise Me Up **_

"He's not here..." Blaise said his worried voice echoing of the walls of the empty house in Paris, Ginny pushed her hood back, her long blue travelling cloak bellowing about her in the breeze and Harry pulled out his wand from the its holster walking towards, Blaise he whispered, "Anyone inside?"

"If they were taken from somewhere, it isn't here. Put your wand away Potter." Blaise said before shutting the door of the house and walking out into the breezy garden.

"Where else could he have taken her?" Harry asked.

"Think Potter think for a second, this is Draco Malfoy we are talking about. The man has at least a dozen houses scattered all over the globe in different locations. He could have taken them anywhere to any house."

"How about we stick to the ones in France for the moment."Ginny snapped at the men. "There is only one other one... the one in Saint Tropez. And if something happened there, the place is so private that no one would think to look."

All three of them exchanged a look and with a swirl of her cloak Ginny apparated out of the courtyard followed by Harry and Blaise.

...

"The house is empty... I don't think he's here." Ginny said walking down the stairs of the beach house, the sun was just rising over the horizon as Harry and Blaise stood at the bay windows overlooking the sea, their scared faces illuminated by the early morning light.

"Are you sure? Absolutely sure?"

"The house is empty, but I am sure that this is where they were last. The nursery looks occupied, Scorpy's things are there and Hermione's bag is on one of the beds." Ginny recited dutifully, joining the men looking out of the windows.

"What are we going to do?!" Harry said looking at his wife.

Behind them suddenly they heard Blaise emit a loud gasp and both of them turned.

"What the fuck is that?!" he yelled looking out onto the beach, Ginny and Harry looked out shocked, on the far end of the sand they saw a figure lying prone on the ground, the faint light showed them large splotches of deep red on the sand right near the palm trees.

Harry pulled his wand and ran out, slamming the door out of his way and running down the boardwalk to the small opening that led to the private beach. Ginny ran after him her own wand drawn and ready.

"It's Draco!" Harry yelled to the two people behind him. He charged forward, his stomach lurching with sick fear as he looked at his friend's unmoving form.

"Is he breathing Harry?" yelled Blaise trying to catch up to Harry, who was now leaning over Draco's limp body feeling for a pulse at his throat.

"Just barely, his pulse is faint and we need to get him out of here fast! He must have been here what maybe for three days now. His bloody wounds are fucking infected!"

Ginny brushed her husband aside, "I remember some of Hermione's healing spells... I can do some basic healing but we need to get him to Saint Mungo's as soon as I'm done. Blaise stay and look for Hermione! Harry can apparate with the extra load, he's used to it because of the Auror training." She said coolly giving out commands. "Do not lose your heads. This is not the time or the place."

Leaning over him, she brushed Draco's hair from his face and felt over his skull where the sand had cast a crusty coat over the wound.

"_Tergeo." _She said, watching the blood and sand clear out of the massive wound on his head. "_Vulnera Sanentur__." _She said pointing to the deep gash on his forehead. Watching it close and then lastly pointing to his broken legs she muttered out "_Ferula." _which bound his broken legs into a splint.

"Okay that's about all I can do and I'm sure he has passed out due to blood-loss or dehydration or lack of food. Who know how long he's been out here?" Ginny said wiping sweat from her brow and shrugging of her cloak and putting it over Draco. Her eyes worriedly wandering over his pasty unhealthy complexion and his bloodless, pale lips. Draco's blue veins stood out in sharp contrast, his white skin was covered in slowly darkening bruises some of which had already taken on a sick yellow- green tinge.

Harry came forward and reached under Ginny's cloak to lift Draco's body up. It was hard as hell; Draco was several inches taller than Harry and more than a few pounds heavier. Harry struggled for a few minutes before gaining his footing in the sand.

"Find Hermione." He said giving Blaise a pointed look that promised extreme pain if he didn't find Hermione soon and apprated out of the beach.

...

"She's not here, I looked everywhere ..." Ginny sighed frustrated. "And nor is Scorpius, someone took them... I'm convinced!"

"How would you know?" said the green eyed man, giving the red head a quizzical look.

"Scorpius' seizure medication is gone and so are his toys. The rest of his things are piled up neatly. I just hope whoever has taken him gives him his medication on time. You know what'll happen if they don't, don't you?"

Blaise shuddered violently thinking of the last time the little boy was in the hospital. The medication for the baby was meant to be administered every two days through a set of pills and one injection.

"You know somehow I don't see Astoria doing this herself, it's too much dirty work for her. She has to have someone working for her or a partner doing all the physical aspects. Extortion and blackmail is more her forte." Said Blaise looking around the beach with a raised eyebrow.

"So if it's about the money. She must have contacted Draco but since he's been here for Merlin only knows how long he can't have read it; maybe a demand for money will give us a clue as to where the baby and Hermione are?" Ginny said.

"It's worth a shot..." considered Blaise with a frown on his brow.

"Since Hermione is clearly not here let's check for a letter or something in the house."

And the both of them headed inside.

Ginny whistled out loud for Zane Draco's handsome eagle owl, who came flying out of one of the higher bedroom windows and came and sat on her arm. Petting him gently, she talked to him softly asking for the undelivered letters, the handsome owl ruffled his feathers importantly, his tawny eyes glinting with intelligence and flew up to the bedroom window which he had clearly made his own and flew back down again. A single letter clutched in his beak.

As he handed the letter to Ginny she ripped open the flap impatiently her hands immediately pulling the letter forth and scanning its contents.

_My dear, darling Draco,_

_As always you underestimate me darling. I told you keeping that retard child would one day cost you dearly and I'm afraid that day is here. I was nice before asking you to settle out of court but NO! You wanted to proceed with the case and we all know who was going to win. You..._

_So now that you won't play the game with me... nicely anyway. I had to play dirty and this is me playing dirty..._

_Silly, silly Draco thinking I would give up so easily..._

_The money, seven million in muggle money, put it in a bag and give it to your owl. He knows where to go and don't think you can follow me. If you do... BOOM! The little retards blood is on your hands._

_Oh and remember tick-tock... the seizure medication could always slip from my hands and break..._

_Always loving_

_Astoria._

"The bloody bitch!" screamed out Ginny. "I'll cut her into pieces and fry her!"

"Calm down Weasley ... Potter! Hermione is not mentioned even once in the letter and how the hell are we going to get Scorp back!?" Blaise said shaking Ginny.

"We need to talk to Draco... right now!" She said. "And decide what to do!"

Both of them shaken and upset apprated out of the room and back to London.

...

_**Sorry for any mistakes and please review! **_

_Ferula_ - binds and splints fractures.

_Tergeo_ — spell for clearing up dried blood from a bleeding wound, similar to the Scouring Charm.

_Vulnera Sanentur_ — spell used to heal deep gashes like those caused by the curse _Sectumsempra_.


	17. Chapter 16: Scorpius Discovered

_**Don't Forget to REVIEW!**_

_**Raise Me Up**_

"Mr. Potter, you brought Mr. Malfoy here just in time. A few more hours and he would have died of dehydration. My estimate is that he has been out on the beach where you found him for at least two days. It will take him time to heal; the wounds he sustained have become putrid and infected. Unfortunately there is no quick way for them to be healed so you have to wait for the anti-biotech potions to work on them. Also, I warn you that he may have loss of memory, as is the case of most patients with a head wound so I request you not to pressure him with questions, he may not be able to answer. I know finding Ms. Granger and Mr. Malfoy's baby is of utmost importance but you have to give him time." Said the healer signing off Draco's chart with a flourish of his quill and looking at Harry with his sharp bird like eyes.

Harry fought to keep his temper in check as he regarded the young man in front of him with furious green eyes. "I have to pressure him to answer my questions, Hermione and Scorpius may not have enough time! Draco was the sole witness to what happened on that beach, you think its fun for me to hamper his health? Trust me it's not! But I think Draco would rather lie in bed all his life than have his son killed! So you do your job and let me do mine..." he yelled storming off towards the room where Draco was.

Draco Malfoy was looking up at the ceiling with a blank look on his face, his mind going over and over all of what had happened that day, he knew that Harry and Ginny and Blaise were walking on eggshells around him. But he wanted to know, dammit! It was his right to know what in the name of high hell had happened that day... all he could do was draw a blank, his mind just darkened after the few memories he had dredged up from the murky mire that was currently in place of his brain.

Just as Harry was about to walk into Draco's room he was stopped short by two voices calling out to him, "Sir... Mr. Potter sir!" and Harry saw two of his young recruits running towards him in a hurry.

As they reached him Harry waited for them to catch their breath, the young woman with coffee coloured hair looked up at him... her eyes shining. "Sir, we just got a tip through owl post about the Malfoy boy, it's from two stable hands who work at the Greengrass holiday manor in Argentina!"

Harry looked at the excited faces of the two young women in front of him sceptically, "And this only came in when we offered a reward of a million in wizarding gold over the Wizard Wireless Network?" He said raising his eyebrow.

The young girls' faces fell as they nodded their heads.  
"Well did you check if the Greengrass family has a manor in Argentina?" he asked exasperated, not in the mood to handle the incompetency of these morons right now.

"They do sir, they do! Jenny here was there on vacation with her family. The Greengrass family had invited everyone there for their annual Hippogriff racing contests!" said one of the young women excitedly.

"Well then I guess it's worth looking into but be warned, rich old pureblood families like the Greengrasses have many houses all over the globe and for the kind of money being offered, all kinds of people will be calling in with tips about kidnapped children. Tell me, did the tip mention anything about a Miss. Hermione Granger?"

The girl with the short dirty blond hair shook her head. "No, sir. No Miss. Hermione Granger. The tip just said that while in the stables, the boys had heard the muffled crying of a young child in pain."

Harry raised his brow and asked, "You don't think that that could have been one of the staff's children?"

The girl shook her blonde head vigorously and said, "In the letter, the boys had written about how they heard another young man yelling about not harming the brat who cost seven million muggle money."

Harry was shocked! Astoria being so sloppy...it didn't add up...maybe she was playing at something. More money? Recognition? REVENGE? But why now? Three years later? And Astoria knew that taking Scorp away would be the ultimate revenge. NOTHING could hurt Draco more and she knew it.

And WHAT ABOUT HERMIONE!? She wasn't mentioned in the letter, she isn't mentioned in the tip note, and no ransom demand for her...it was like Hermione Granger had disappeared off the face of the earth.

Honestly, Harry was confused. He just shook his head. For now, he would go to Argentina and send one of his agents to ask Ron where Hermione was. After all, they had remained good friends even after the break-up...

Harry marched out to the apparition point of St. Mungo's. Behind him, the two girls followed. With a whirl of their cloaks, they were out of London and en route to Argentina.

...

Two days had gone by and no one had come for Hermione...She knew she was counting the seconds.

Ron was prolonging his cruelty...He didn't take her immediately...He wanted her to suffer...And suffer, she did.

Day after day, each minute, each second, she was forced to lie bare before his lewd eyes. Humiliation at its worst.

It was cold and water dripped all day long, making sure she could never sleep and escape this nightmare that she had become a part of. He was all around her. She could smell his very stink in the air where it had permeated permanently; reminding her of what she was to him...

A prize...A toy...A slave...A sexual object...Something without feelings and emotions...A possession that he had now acquired and one that had not yet lost its novelty.

He wanted her broken, a sobbing wreck when he took her. He wanted her to KNOW to whom she really belonged.

But she wouldn't give him the satisfaction.

She refused to cry when he groped her in the middle of the night, however painful it was. Her tears didn't fall when he hit her with the chains she was bound with and her eyes remained dry as if she could indeed feel no more.

All day, every day, she would think and dream of Harry, Ginny but most of all, of Draco and Scorpius. When Ron ran his hands over her body, to stop herself from vomiting, she would think it was Draco and hope that she would still be innocent when she escaped from this hell.

Her hands bled and her nails were torn from clawing at the walls that held her within them. Her stomach growled because of the lack of food but she refused to eat what Ron would give her, throwing it back at his face instead.

Worst was when he gagged her. No hope remained for anyone to hear her screams of agony.

Her body was bruised with his imprint. Her breasts were tender and red with the marks of his teeth. Her face was covered in darkening bruises which were hidden everyday by new ones. All night, she shivered and shook because he refused to let her wear clothes, showing her just how much of a prize she really was.

As he left every morning, she let her tears fall and prayed that someone would find her before he finally raped her...

...

Harry hid behind a tree and pulled out his wand. The Greengrass Manor was old and large and he could bet that there were at least a dozen protective spells surrounding it. Usually, he would have stormed in but he couldn't risk spooking Astoria and losing the child again.

The agents behind him were getting angsty. Aurors were a lot like well trained hippogriffs who need to have a run to release their energy now and then. He held up his hand as a signal to wait and cast a Disillusionment Charm on himself.

Walking forward, he noticed a tiny shadow waiting near the gate. On further inspection, it turned out to be a young boy, pale and scared. So this was the child who sent the tip...and was waiting to let them in. Harry sent out a signal with his wand and a few minutes later, the low crunching of pines was heard. The three Aurors behind him were well hidden. Their black cloaks melding into the shadows of the dark forest.

Harry walked forward and cast a Lumos upon his face and indicated with a finger to his lips for the boy to be silent and open the gates.

The four Aurors slipped through a small opening that the boy showed them. Harry moved forward and asked in an urgent whisper, "Where is the little boy hidden?!"

"Top tower, west side of the Manor. You can hear him crying all the way down to the stables. I hope they are not doing anything bad to him." Said the young boy whose innocently shining eyes were glistening with tears.

"You did something very very noble today and you will be well rewarded. It is rare to see such bravery in someone so young." Harry said, patting the boy on his shoulder. "Stay here. You'll be safe."

The four Aurors strode into the Greengrass Manor. Adrian Pucey pressed his wand to his throat and muttered the Sonorous charm and said, "This house is now under raid by the Ministry Of Magic. Any and all means to leave the Manor through Floo and Apparation must be shut down immediately."

The servants hurried to do their bidding with scared looks on their faces. Harry immediately started giving out orders. "Jenny and Esme, take the bottom floors. Search them thoroughly. Pucey, take the third floor. I'm going to the towers." All three nodded and left to do as he had commanded.

Harry ran up the stairs and as he came closer to the tower, he heard the muffled sounds of a scuffle and the sounds of a child crying. Harry tried the door. It was locked and all locking charms were under control because of the raid. Harry kicked the door open and rushed inside.

The scene that met his eyes made him furious. Scorpius was struggling in the arms of a huge man who was handling him without any care whatsoever. He was also gasping for breath, an indication of his oncoming seizure. Harry lifted his wand and performed a Stupefying Charm strong enough to knock the man out for a few hours and ran forward to catch Scorpius. The child calmed down when he saw a familiar face. Harry was frantically searching everywhere for his seizure medication. Astoria had clearly neglected to give it to him.

Behind him, he heard the sound of someone clapping and his eyes fell on a young man with slicked back black hair, who was holding up Scorpius' seizure medication.

A maddeningly arrogant smile on his face. "Harry Potter. We meet at last. You mustn't be remembering me. I was at Hogwarts with you, Saint Potter." The young man's eyes were glinting with barely veiled hate and Harry could smell the scent of FireWhisky from where he stood and it made his blood boil.

These were the idiots Astoria had to look after her son!

Harry was going to relish taking her to Azkaban. This woman did not deserve a child.

Harry cuddled the baby closer to him, wiping his tears and kissing him on his head. His body protectively covering him. It was almost too hard to believe that Scorpius was a part of Astoria too. She really didn't deserve a son, especially one like him, so loving and gentle and who could never think about harming someone like Astoria who had nearly ripped him and his father apart.

Harry was in no mood to deal with this annoying pest and held up his wand and cast a strong gagging and binding charm, walked over, took Scorpius' medicines and walked out...

...


	18. Chapter 17: Hermione Discovered

**_RAISE ME UP_**

Ron Weasley heard a loud knock on the door of his apartment. His head was pounding, as it did every morning, yet the only cure for a hangover for him was more Fire Whiskey. He walked to the door of his apartment, ignoring the debris of dirt, unwashed clothes and empty bottles of liquor and used condoms. The stench of the apartment was one of disuse and neglect. He wrenched the door open and looked out with his blood-shot eyes at the two dark robed men standing with expressionless faces.

"Ron Weasley?" said one of the men. "We have come here to inquire about the disappearance of a Miss Hermione Granger. We were informed that you were in a relationship with her. We have a few routine questions for you. May we come in?"

Ron looked up and down the hallway, his eyes darting nervously. "Do you really need to come in? Can't I answer your questions from here?"

The two Aurors exchanged a look. One of them raised his eyebrows in sceptical agreement.

"Whatever you are comfortable with, Mr. Weasley." He said sarcastically. "When was the last time you saw Miss Granger and where were you?"

"I...uh...um...the last time I met her was two months ago in the Leaky Cauldron."

"Why the hesitation. Mr. Weasley? It's not that easy to forget meeting your girlfriend, is it?" Said the Auror, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"Well, I didn't want to say this, but during our relationship I wasn't um...exactly _faithful. _So I used to often forget our appointments."

"Is that why Miss Granger ended her relationship with you?"

"Yes!" He said a little too fast, fast enough for the Aurors to take notice, "Yes that's exactly why she ended the relationship! Now if you'll excuse me, I have somewhere important to be."

"Not so fast sir, how was she the last time you met her, nervous, anxious, jittery? Did she show signs of any unusual behaviour?"

"No non what so ever, she was just the same. Now you really must leave. I really have nothing else to tell you." he said gruffly shutting his door on the surprised Aurors faces.

Both of them looked at each other shocked and slowly began to turn away. "For a war hero the bloke is a bloody wanker, fancy chucking us out of there like he was hiding something of great importance."

"Yeah, I hear you; it's kind of shocking how those three became friends. Two of them are bloody brilliant and this one's a right arsehole."

"Looked a bit to jittery, I think we should sit on him for a bit."

"Potter will have you're balls for suspecting his best friend Rhys and do you seriously think he's going to abduct her?"

"Hell James just humour me will you... there's something shady about, is all I'm saying."

"There is nothing wrong with him except for the fact that he smells like a bloody brewery and could do with a bath more often."

They went down the stairs arguing about whether or not to put surveillance on Ron Weasley.

"I'm going to sit on him James I want to see why the hell he was so shaky." Rhys declared, stopping just in front of Ron's building.

"Fine! Its you're ass on the line..." James said before walking to the Apparition point and disappearing.

Rhys cast a strong Disillusionment charm on himself and waited, it was a feeling, something he couldn't shake... something that made him suspect Ron Weasley's over anxious voice and his darting eyes. And sure enough a few minutes later he emerged, jamming a dark blue cap onto his head and pulling on a hooded sweatshirt, his hands stuffed into his pockets and his head bent low like he was trying to be inconspicuous.

Rhys immediately cast a location charm lest he Apprated and began to follow him, as if sensing someone there Ron quickly reached the Apparition point and whirled out of sight but thanks to the charm on him Rhys could locate him easily ... Nocturne Ally. Not the normal hangout spot for a war hero and all around good guy... he was curious so he followed

* * *

**_A few days later _**

Ron Weasley had the entire bloody world convinced he was a good guy but not Rhys. After a few days of covert surveillance Rhys was of the opinion that the man was a sleazebag and as far as sleazebags went he certainly knew how to hide his more disgusting habits well. Playing the loving brother and son with his family while gambling and whoring and drinking himself into an early grave each day with his friends from Nocturne Ally, but what puzzled him the most was where every alternate day Ron Weasley disappeared too, the charm on him stopped working and seemed almost null till he returned at day-break.

As he was about to drop his suspicions of Ron Weasley, he saw her... the blond women had been chasing after him for the entire time Rhys was survailing him but Weasley seemed to be avoiding her with almost fearful eyes.

Rhys stepped closer wanting to her what she had to say, first he had assumed she was a jilted lover but by the look of fierce determination on her face he had revised his assumption, he saw her pull him into a dark allyway to the side and rushed after them, anxious to hear what she had to say.

"You bloody wanker!"She whisper-shrieked at him. "I owled you didn't I saying I needed your help. They are looking for me everywhere, both the dealers and Malfoy. You have to ask for a ransom and give her back. I need the fucking money or it's all over. They'll kill me!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about Astoria..." he said threateningly narrowing his eyes at her.

"Help me Weasley or I'll tell everyone about our sordid little deal." She said looking up at him with angry eyes. "Where have you hidden Granger anyway?"

"In the old sewer tubes near the old Bingham station of the tube." He said triumphant. "Those jackarses will never get her."

"Are you mad? Or just stupid? Potter has a massive taskforce looking for her! Now demand the ransom or ..."

"Who in their right mind will believe you? You cow, I'm a decorated war hero and you're a fugitive. Now shove you're threats, tonight I'll take my prize and then you can demand your bloody ransom." He said shoving her aside and lifting up his bottle of liquor.

Rhys stood shocked, tonight! He was going to get her tonight... Rhys had no doubt whatsoever who they were talking about and began to follow the drunk and violent Ron Weasley as he wandered to his home, he had to follow him... an Innocent was in danger!

He had not given an exact location there were miles and miles of the sewer pipe and only Weasley knew exactly where he had kept Miss. Granger.

* * *

"Little Miss. Granger, so prim and proper..." Ron taunted her as her tightened the gag around her mouth, paying no mind to her desperate pleas and cries. "So prim and proper till Ron came and took her to the land of fire." He said again in the sing-song voice of a mad-man, stripping away his clothes ignoring her completely.

Soon his naked body was pressed to her's as she struggled and fought against her restraints. Feeling a little ease of the gag she screamed out loud, again and again until he smacked her and began to roughly pinch her nipples and move his erection against her naked body. "Today I'm going to my prize you little bitch!" he snarled at her.

And at that moment she knew... She knew he was going to do it... rape her!

"Drop Miss. Granger right now Mr. Weasley and step away from her... don't make me Stupefy you, you filthy piece of scum..."

* * *

DO NOT FORGET TO**_ REVIEW!_**! or I wont write.. :P just kidding


	19. Chapter 18: Broken

_Love for you'll to leave behind your comments and such :D I know all my readers have anxiously been waiting for this chapter and I hope it lives up to your exacting standards that's why I spent nearly two day's writing this as opposed to my usual one hour._

_Cheers and spread the love (the story too :P)_

_Please do review… It means a lot_

* * *

**_Raise Me Up_**

Ron turned around snarling at the man, he had finally lost it Hermione thought with a sense of oncoming dread, he is so far gone in his delusions that he has lost his mind. And she watched with a sort of detached sense of pity as he jumped at the young Auror without his wand.

Rhys knew protocol dictated that he must Stupefy the assailant should he attack, he knew the rule book by heart but he couldn't resist wanting to beat the shit out of filthy, mad bastard in front of him. Just the sight of Hermione Granger was making him want to throw up, she was naked with bruises and blood covering her body but it was her face that scared him the most, bleak, chilling, lifeless...

"Are you going to fight an unarmed man you itty-bitty wittle Auror boy?" Taunted Ron from in front of him.

"Weasley do you really think it's wise to taunt me... I'm the one with the wand." Rhys shot back, slowly creeping closer to Ron.

Ron gave a maniacal laugh that bounced of the cold, dreary metal walls and stepped back before Rhys could see what he was doing, he caught Hermione's tiny body and pressed both his hands into her throat.

"Now little Auror boy, now who holds all the chips?" he said grinning, his crazed eyes rolling to the back of his head. Rhys was certain he was on some kind of drug but now he was trapped, Ron Weasley was much bigger than Hermione Granger and a few squeezes would be all it took from him to crush her wind pipe, he had to tread very - very carefully. He could hear Hermione Granger begin to whimper, pitiful little noises that made Rhys feel like the scum of the earth and made Ron Weasley grin and if he was not mistaken aroused...

"What's the matter wittle Auror boy; don't you know what to do?" Ron said in a baby voice, his hands gripping Hermione's throat tighter, her screams were muffled through the gag.

Non-verbal's! That's when it hit Rhys, he knew the spell would not be as strong as if he had done it with his wand but it would knock Weasley out for a few minutes. Quickly summoning all his energy, he focused on Ron's body. All Rhys anger and his aggression going into the mix and with that he viciously said the word inside his head, hearing the satisfying crunch of a body hit something hard before he opened his eyes.

Hermione was shivering, the cold had seeped into her veins and she was sure when she was out of here she was going to have to spend some time in Saint. Mungos and that meant Harry and Ginny finding out about Ron, she just hoped that their reaction was not too drastic because honestly drastic was the last thing she wanted to deal with right about now. She looked up at the young man in Aurors robes and glared at him, "Well don't just gape at me, get me out of these chains!"

"Ma'am." Rhys said snapping to attention and _Alohemoraing _Hermione's chains, his cheeks pink as he tried to not look at her naked body. Handing her his coat with averted eyes.

And then turning to Ron he muttered, _Petrificus Totalus, _casting him in a Full Body Bind and then _Levicorups __to_ levitate him out of the sewers.

Hermione Granger made it out of the hole Ron had kept her in with her head high and her body rigid with as much dignity as she could muster but as soon as the young Auror apprated them Saint. Mungo's she collapsed… her knees giving out from under her and her eyes glazing over with agony…

Here she was the Brightest Witch of The Age, naked and broken by a man with less than half her intellect, a man who didn't deserve her, a man she had fought so hard for…

She was ashamed at herself for letting this happen, she was horrified at her own weakness and she was disgusted with her tears. Hermione could not recognize herself, she could hardly remember that gutsy girl who had stood up to Dolores Umbridge, who's idea it had been to start Dumbledore's Army, when had she lost that courage? When had she lost faith in herself? When had she become this weak, pathetic excuse of not just a witch but a woman? She had a duty, in her place of power to inspire people, young witches and wizard's, was this what she was teaching them, that it was okay for a man to hit his lover and it was meant for a woman not to speak to her defense but to just bare the abuse silently?

Hermione hardly noticed when they moved her to another room, she hardly noticed when the Healer was talking to her, she hardly noticed Ginny sit beside her and hold her hand and she hardly noticed Harry looking at her with pain in his eyes…

She was far too lost in the memories…

* * *

"You sonofabitch!" screamed Harry Potter looking down at the pathetic figure of Ron Weasley... "She was you're bloody friend... How could you?!"

"Bloody Fucking Saint Potter, always doing what's right, always the best... You wanted her for yourself didn't you?!" Ron said looking up at Harry with a maniacal smile, "Well I would have got her first if you didn't come and save the day as always..."

"I didn't even suspect you..." Harry said shaking his head at his own stupidity, "Thank Merlin I have Auror's with great instincts working for me..."

"How can you let her be with that Death-Eater!" yelled Ron, "He tried to kill Dumbledore!"

"He did what he had to, to save his family..." Harry said coldly. "What's you're excuse for trying to rape someone? I can't even look at you right now..." Harry said walking away, "Get him out of here, take him to the cell till his lawyer comes... I never want to look at him again."

"You'll regret this!" Screamed Ron as the guards dragged him away, his maniacal voice shrieking of the walls making Harry flinch...

And again softer yet menacing "You will all regret this..."

Harry's body tingled with fear of Ron's threat, he knew that Azkaban would not stop him from going after something he deemed to be his, this was his fault thought Harry guiltily, if he hadn't been so self-absorbed he would have seen it, how Hermione withdrew into her shell and how there were always unexplained wounds on her body and on her face… maybe on some subconscious level he knew what Ron was doing to her but he never wanted to accept it.

It was his entire fault…

Harry dropped his head into his hands and for the first time in ten years tears leaked out of tightly shut eyes…tears of guilt, tears of agony, pain and betrayal...

* * *

"Mum, she's never going to want to see me again." Ginny sobbed, "She must be hating us, this entire family." She said her pretty brown eyes ringed with dark circles and red with tears.

"Oh Ginny you mustn't say that love." Said Mrs. Weasley her own cheeks damp with moisture and her face pale.

"She won't talk mum, she just won't speak… it's been two days now!" Ginny said her voice bordering on hysterical. "And Harry feels so guilty; he can't even look at her. He just comes to the hospital and holds her hand all day long."

"Love you must give it time, their bond, is like that of a brother and sisters it won't break give her time to come around." Said Molly, but even she sounded uncertain.

Would Hermione ever want to associate with the Weasley's again?

...

_**Don't forget to review! **_


	20. Chapter 19: Waking Up

_Do review :) _

_**Raise Me Up **_

"What makes you think I can do anything about it man?" Draco said deftly picking up his son from the bath tub and smiling at him, kissing his cheek and rubbing lotion on the tiny wiggling little body.

"Come on man, I'm going for broke here, she won't respond to me or to Gin and I highly doubt she will to you either but how about to Scorpius?" desperation tinged Harry's green eyes which were overly bright indicating his severe lack of sleep. "If you're right, then she loves him like her own. She'd want to see him."

Draco sighed and finished dressing Scorpius, giving his adorable baby boy a pat on his bottom to send him toddling out of the bathroom and to his play room, since his kidnapping Draco had been over-protective of the little boy and he knew now it was most prudent to keep him home and safe at all time, they had yet to catch Astoria…

Draco wanted desperately to see Hermione again, to look at her again to see her smile, to touch her curls, to kiss her lips, to see the sun shine bounce of her golden skin, to touch her hand and to hear her tinkering laugh that never failed to tug his heart-strings, to see her dewy eyes bright with desire.

"She won't them touch her…" Harry said his voice broken and heavy.

"What!?"

"She starts shivering and flinching or screaming if any healer touches her."

"You mean…"

"Yeah, they have to sedate her before they can heal her but she won't let any of them close enough to even do that."

Draco shook his head in disbelief and walked with Harry to where Scorpius was playing with his toys. The baby just looked up at them with a smile and continued to play, "Do you think?" Draco said.

"It can't hurt to try, I mean it's not like we have any other option left…"

Draco looked at Scorpius and then at Harry and just nodded.

* * *

"Hey Ginny." Draco said softly, smiling at the wan face of the red head.

"You brought Scorpy!" she grinned, for a few seconds a smile lightning the shadows on her face.

"I don't think I'll be much help to Granger but Harry thinks Scorpius maybe…" He said his voice trailing off, putting the baby down and sitting down on one of the hard hospital chairs, he reached out and held one of Ginny's hands and smiling at her in an attempt to cheer her.

Tears welled up in Ginny's eyes and her lips began to tremble, "Oh Draco! I'm sorry to be such a cry-baby but she's…oh! It's Hermione… How could he?!" she said furiously through her tears. "I'm so sorry, I just wanted to apologize from my family's side to you and to Hermione but I doubt she's going to forgive me…"

"Ohh… she's going to hate me now." Ginny moaned, dropping her head into her hands… sobbing.

Draco knew there was nothing he could say just now that would make her feel better about what had happened, so he just gave the baby to Harry and indicated he go to Hermione's room while Draco tried to calm Ginny down.

Harry entered Hermione's room and slowly walked towards her, her face was the same, bleak, blank, lifeless…

"Hermione, someone here to see you." He said gently, feeling the little boy give an exited bounce in his arms.

She didn't even look at him; her gaze was blank as she looked out of the window to the bustling streets of Muggle London.

He put Scorpius onto the bed and edged to one corner of the room waiting to see her reaction.

The little baby boy crawled to where Hermione just lay still and wound his arms around her, babbling to her in his special baby language and cooing at her. It took a bit of time but for the first time in a week Hermione moved, her eyes showing some sign of life and activity as she looked down at the crinkly blond head laying comfortably on her chest and babbling away as he told her all about his hectic day and his busy schedule and how much he had missed her and giving her his sweet baby smiles, his three teeth flashing in the sunlight. Scorpius playfully ran his hands over her cheeks and played with her limp hair at first Harry noticed how she flinched every time the baby touched her but eventually became used to the baby's constant movements. She still didn't touch him but he could see the change, her eyes followed Scorpius and her lips moved in soundless communication, like she wanted to speak but she just wasn't ready yet.

"Come one Scorp buddy let's leave and let Hermione get some rest." Harry said.

Harry walked up to the bed to take Scorpius in his arms and told him to say goodbye for today. The baby pressed his lips to Hermione lips like he had seen his daddy do and went into his uncles arms.

Harry looked into Hermione's eyes and saw the pain reflected there, she didn't want him to leave! He began walking towards the door and just as he opened it he heard a husky, tired, hoarse voice say "Stop, please don't take him away…"

* * *

"I always knew something was wrong." Ginny said to Draco. "Me and Harry knew or at least we suspected, subconsciously anyway, we never wanted to say anything or do anything lest we be proved right. I mean what sister wants to know if her brother is a sadistic bastard who beats up her best friend." She said with a bitter little laugh.

"So what is Harry going to do now?" Draco was almost afraid to ask.

"Honestly? I don't know, hasn't our family suffered enough already. But this! Who would have though it? Mum and dad don't want anything to do with Ron and nor does George. I mean, I can't even look at him without wanting to throw up for what he did to her… but Harry said he hired one of the best lawyers' to work for him, I just know that this court battle is going to be ugly and I'm pretty sure a media frenzy. I can see the title now 'War Hero Gone Bad' by Rita Skeeter." Ginny said shaking her head.

And suddenly the door slammed open and Harry ran out, breathless…

"She is asking for you Draco…"

…


	21. Chapter 20: The Lawyer

**_I'm so sorry it's so short but review for sure it's no fun without them…. No motivation to write then anyway was busy with school and all so forgive me._**

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**_Raise Me Up_**

Ron Weasley smirked at his lawyer and lounged back in the chair, his eyes stripping her. Andrea Finahphne was one of the best criminal defense attorneys in the wizerding world. With a rate of 9/10 percentage of wins in all her trials she was known to be ruthless in her defense of her client and equally willing to dig up dirt and past indiscretions to keep her record winning high. She played dirty… Ron liked that.

Gods... She was _cold_ as bloody ice but fucking effective with her scraped back red hair and her thin lips almost always pressed together in a firm , unrelenting line, a smile was rare but never genuine, more like a feral 'I know your filthy secret' kind.

"The easiest thing in the world is…" she began with a cruel little sneer , "Making a woman look a conniving bitch even one as pure as driven snow like you're Miss Granger. The majority of the Wizgamot is… lucky for you women and I learnt this simple fact early in life, all women hate other women. So if we have enough to make all this seem like a big publicity sham and make you out to be the victim, the injured party, just an innocent bystander to all of Miss. Grangers clever wiles and tricks, the Wizgamot is sure to let you off." She said barring her teeth in the semblance of a grin, yet what it really looked like was a wild display of carnal satisfaction, like a lion grinning when it killed and ate the deer.

"I like the way you work." Ron purred silkily, "Most effective."

"You're Ron Weasley." She shrugged, "It won't be hard to get you off and you're a war hero, a benevolent soul with hundreds of female hearts at your disposal. Who is going to believe you're desperate enough to kidnap a woman for sex? You get enough of it without trying already. You will have enough fans in the Wizgamot who wouldn't want you to rot in Azkaban." She stated, her hard green eyes glinting at the thought of the massive paycheck she would be cashing in Gringotts at the end of this trial. "But we do need one more thing, a steady girlfriend or a fiancé or even a family member to be there throughout the trial to cry and hold your hand. One who must be horrified and disgusted with these charges and believes in your innocence wholeheartedly!" she said sarcastically. "You know… someone who can confront Miss. Granger while the media is there and make a big scene of shouting at her and saying things like 'he was always good to you!' 'Why are you doing this to us?!' 'He was there for you when no one else was!' It'll throw you in a kind of sympathetic light and make her look like an even bigger bitch." She said drolly.

"I think I have someone in mind." Said Ron with a thoughtful expression on his face that morphed into a lecherous grin when he remembered his old flame Lavender Brown's heartfelt, sincere letters to him letting him know that she didn't believe a word of what was written in the _Daily Prophet_ and if he needed help of any kind… any kind at all if you catch my drift to let her know and she would come running…

"Excellent!" said Andrea grinning her shark like smile. "It was a pleasure doing business with you Mr. Weasley."

"Indeed a pleasure." Said Ron looking over her tight yet conservatively cut gray business suit that displayed her lean body to its best advantage and her slightly low neckline with the shadow of her cleavage showing just a hint, "I hope for there to be more pleasure soon Andrea and not the business kind." He smirked.

The lawyer just raised one perfect eyebrow and bent to collect her suitcase, her position a clear invitation… seductive, alluring and beckoning, walked out of his holding cell feeling Ron's leering gaze on her…

Ron reluctantly shifted his gaze from the attorney's retreating backside and barked at a guard to bring him materials with which to write a letter.

An air head with a penchant for drama was exactly what he needed right now, Lavender had been trying to get her big break into modeling but had been thus far unsuccessful his offer would be a boon for them both, letting Ron go scot-free and allowing him to get his revenge and propelling Lavender into the world of modeling because of the riot this trial would create. She would be thankful to him, _Witch Weekly, The Robes, Magic Rags and Enchantress _ would want an expose with her which would result in her subsequent launch into the world of fashion.

So he carefully wrote back.

_Dear Lav,_

_My darling it gives me so much relief that __**you **__believe me! I couldn't have borne it if you believed their horrendous lies and cut you're self for from me. I pine for you; it is so dark and lonely here just like the corners of my heart when I am without you but I must ask you to do something for me… and you know me, how I hate to ask anything of you. It is a task of great importance and I couldn't have asked for a better more patient, loving angel than you if you __**do**__ consent to it._

_Come see me tomorrow… be sure to dress up, I am dying to see you my beautiful, gorgeous flower. It seems to be forever since I have seen you._

_Yours forever crazy in love and longing._

_Rx_

What bullshit he had to do to get out, he scoffed with a sigh but it would all be worth it when he saw Hermione's face when he got his freedom. Now all he had to do was hope that Lavender was the same idiot he knew before….

…..

…..


	22. Chapter 21: To Walk In Her Shoes

_**Don't forget to review ya'll :D**_

_**Raise Me Up**_

Astoria pulled the hood of her cloak over her head and maneuvered her way out of the dump she was staying in. Yesterday, most of the familial property was sold to pay of her father's business debts so she was back in London, hiding out in a dingy hotel in Nocturne Alley that only cost a bit of silver a night.

Astoria covered her nose with her hand to try and ward of the putrid smell of filth and decay. Her conditions were dire, a couple of days back she had sold of her wand in an effort to get some money. When the entire kidnapping scene blew up in her face she had taken off like a bat out of hell and in the process forgotten all of her hidden stash, both money and drugs….

Now her houses were being monitored by the Ministry, they would know if she tried to go home and she couldn't afford to get caught, Draco would have her ruined and she didn't stand much of a chance out here alone because she knew her dealers were looking for her. She was quite literally caught between a rock and a ravine.

She now sought to forget her problems, a fix... people must think being caught in a situation like this would make her lose all interest in drugs but for a junkie as far gone as her there was nothing she was not willing to do, some might call her heart-less she mused but she had just been looking out for her survival when she sent her dealer an anonymous note telling him where Marshall was hiding out. After all she knew that if Marshal was allowed to live he would squeal on her… so one of her issues was dealt with, she'd decide what to do next over a joint or perhaps a hit of coke.

Tucking a couple of notes of muggle money into her robe pockets she walked out. It was dark and the Nocturne Alley was one of the most notorious places of crime after day light hours and Astoria could not afford to lose her money. She walked carefully down the creaky wooden steps with it's weird iron bannister depicting scenes of various violent torture and swept past the lecherous owner who had a women pressed against him but was still leering at her from his seat shuddering she walked out.

As she stepped into the night her nose was assaulted with the various, noxious scents of potions and powders that were being sold of carts by suspicious looking old women covered in thick woolen baklavas with their faces hidden by veils. Unwashed, filthy men lolled around the sidewalks, cat calling as she passed by and Astoria was terrified that suddenly someone would spring out from the dark alleyways where shadows lurked. Ominous green light glittered from the shops windows highlighting the ragged men and women with their glassy eyes. Some of the women were in a pitiable state, with still suckling babes stuck to their bodies in an effort to remain warm…

Quite mutters followed her everywhere and suddenly a hand reached out and grabbed her shoulder…. Astoria jumped violently and turned to look at an old woman with glazed white eyes looking through her almost sightlessly…

"Why hello girly!" she rasped, Astoria could smell the _Vervain _in her breath, a potent and rather deadly herbs that when mixed with peyote gave the user an LSD high. And this woman had clearly consumed a lot given the way she stumbled and shuffled against Astoria.

"What's a pretty girl like you doing here?" she cooed her brittle, bony hands curling one of Astoria's blond locks around it and when Astoria tried to pull away, suddenly tugging hard till she was almost breathing in her mouth. Bringing her closer still by tugging on Astoria's hair she whispered into her ear "What were you doing here? Meeting one of your Johns? You look like a girl with money. Do you have money?"

"N..N..No, No money." Astoria stuttered out, getting more and more terrified by the second, she struggles increasing. This old woman was incredibly strong, holding her in place just by her hair she started to breathe hard like she was getting angry. "Don't lie to me!" she threatened in her hoarse voice. "I don't like liars…" again Astoria stammered out a negative response that made the old woman roar in rage and yell out and all of a sudden Astoria was surrounded….

Men and women all who she suspected were high appeared out of the alleyways, making a threatening circle around her and the woman before her collapsed at her knees pointing at Astoria and muttering something about 'rich ice princesses' and then Astoria felt a man's clammy hand press itself into her throat and his low voice rasp out "You've upset mother, I hate people who upset mother…. now give us the money or won't be leaving here without serious injuries…." Astoria looked around her terrified, all of the people surrounding her were giving her dirty looks and moving towards her and all of a sudden a thought flashed in her mind. 'Was this how Granger and Scorpius felt when they were being taken?' and that thought just made her scream out loud in the vain hope that someone might hear her, her scream startled the man holding her, so she pushed him to the ground and took off...

Running forward she caught sight of an apparition point and pushed herself to reach it, she could hear the hasty footsteps of her pursuers and their harsh breath sounds and apparated out of Nocturne Alley.

That sudden thought had taken her breath away; it had been almost a year since she called her son by his name as opposed to the 'retard'. She now understood the mind numbing fear they must have experienced when they were taken, no one to even hear them scream…..

Astoria just shook her head and looked around her; she was one of her old haunts. A small grotto towards the West of London where she had met Marshal while buying her acid. She had apparated here by mistake and if anyone of the dealers caught sight of her she was fucked, she owed most of them money, so as inconspicuous as possible she tried to get out…

Until a large man covered in religious tattoos stepped in front of her, sneering down at her he said "Haven't see you here in a long time Icy…. Come to give us the money you owe for the angel hair, animal and anti-freeze?" he said flexing his muscles menacingly as he glared down at her.

Astoria looked around her, her scared eyes darting left and right looking for the apparition point she came from but it was too dark for her too see…

"Who've you got there Tommy?" came another familiar, dreaded voice.

"Icy..." he growled back.

"Bring her here, she owes us for 20 grams of Apple jack and Astro-turf." The voice snarled out and a tall, pale man came forward his expression black and forbidding.

Vlad…

That's what he was called, at least that's what Marshal told her, because he liked to impale people when they didn't pay up their due… Astoria gulped, feeling her mouth dry and her heart begin to thump louder, till she could hear it in her ears.

Astoria knew she had to try making a run for it and just as she moved she felt a hand slam her into the wall behind her, her face was pressed into the bricks and her hands were locked in a death grip…

"Tsk..Tsk little doll." Came the drawl from behind her, "You should not have done that."

She was trapped…. And that was the last thought in her mind before she felt something heavy slam into her skull.

* * *

_**They refer to Astoria as Icy because in case they are caught by the police both customers and dealers prefer not to know real names. Therefore all the drug names are in slang too. **_

**Drug slang: **

**acid** - LSD

**astro turf** – Marijuana

**apple jacks** - Crack Cocaine

**antifreeze** - Heroin

**apache** – Fentanyl

**angel hair** - PCP


	23. Help Needed

**Okay Guys I need your feedback for this one: Super Important **

**_Situation I:_** Astoria escapes from the dealers and run away, not exactly redeemed but more able to empathize and sneaks into Saint. Mungo's where she sees what a happy family Draco, Hermione and Scorp make and decides to help them out as a sort of penance. Ron's lawyer has dug up some incriminating dirt on Rhys making him ineligible to be a witness therefore ruining the prosecutions entire case. Lavender blinded by intense greed for both fame and love agrees to Ron's plan but all the while feels guilty for doing this to Hermione when she has already been through enough. But she is also scared that if she doesn't do what Ron want's her too then he will somehow, some way make her pay.

* * *

**_Situation II:_** Astoria is killed by her dealer therefore eliminating her problems but making it harder for Hermione to get justice as again Rhys is not able to testify. But here Lav is more sensible and disagrees to Ron's plan.

* * *

**_Situation III (My Favorite): _**Astoria escapes from the dealers and run away, not exactly redeemed but more able to empathize and sneaks into Saint. Mungo's where she sees what a happy family Draco, Hermione and Scorp make and decides to help them out. Ron's lawyer has dug up some incriminating dirt on Rhys making him ineligible to be a witness therefore ruining the prosecutions entire case. But Lav again disagrees to do what Ron wants her too, so the prosecution finally catches a break until Ron sends some of his Nocturne Alley friends threatening both Astoria and Lavender if they help Hermione/ if they don't cooperate with him. Scared of meeting the same fate as Hermione they are unable to deny him and are caught in Ron's sticky web they have to help him out but all the while they are meeting Draco and Blaise in secret letting them know what is going on with Andrea and Ron. Helping them find a way to beat Ron's case.

* * *

**_All Situations:_****_ Astoria as met with Draco and cut a deal for her help, Draco leaves her alone and doesn't take her to court if she helps put Ron away also Hermione is not yet healed fully _**


	24. Chapter 22: Mine

_**I hope you'll like it and I'm sorry it's short I have so many events at school that I am going cray-cray crazy.**_

_**So do review! **_

_**Raise Me Up**_

Draco didn't bother to try and appear cool, he didn't bother to try and walk, he ran, he didn't bother about the wide smile on his face, he didn't care if he was undignified, not-classy or looked desperate because he was desperate… dying was a more apt word. He was dying to see Hermione, he was dying to touch her once again, dying to assure himself that she was not just an illusion, a figment of his imagination, that she would not just disappear like mist, dying to hear her speak and most of all dying to hold her in his arms so he could comfort her, take away her pain and change her nightmares into the sweetest of dreams, dying to kiss her lips to erase the memories of Weasley to ensure that she knew that she had him. To soothe her, to make love to her, to hug her close and never let go, to take her far away… away from these horrors, away from her sadness, her pain, her darkness… so far away that she forgot them and never looked back.

Was there an emotion to describe what he felt for her? Feelings of possessiveness so tumults and violent that they shook his very core, feelings of protectiveness that made him want to take her away and never look back, feelings of pure, sinuous want… passion, desire that melted his icy reserve with such ease, feelings of hope, when he saw her with Scorpius, hope that maybe she too would love his son as her own.

And in that moment Draco Malfoy, knew…. Hermione Granger belonged to him…. She belonged to him like the rain belonged to the clouds and like the grass to the earth. So pure and elemental, so magical was their connection, that their very energy when they were together pushed them towards each other. They were meant to be. His every action, every thought, every moment had led him to this place… the place of realization, where he now knew that he could never have another woman, never touch another woman, _never love another woman…._

He may not love her yet, he may not know her enough yet but Draco knew Hermione belonged to him.

But nothing in the world could have prepared him for what he saw next…

Over the years Draco Malfoy, pureblood prince… had wanted to kill Ron Weasley, the mutt many times, due to his red-hair, freckles, lack of money, choice of friends, he was Gryffindor, he sucked at Quidditch and the list was endless.

But nothing… nothing! Had ever sent him into a murderous rage like when he saw what Ron had done to Hermione, _his_ Hermione, if the walls of the room hadn't been magic suppressant it would have crumbled around his feet. He wanted to rage to the heavens, he wanted to yell and curse. He wanted revenge…

Hermione lay there almost motionless, if you didn't see her breath you'd think she was dead. Her eyes blank and glazed over and her always vibrant hair dull and limp. When she saw him enter, she just looked at him with her lifeless eyes and her lips opening and closing like she wanted to say something but she couldn't. She looked so fragile on the large cot; her small hands covered in scratches from where she clawed the wall motioned him closer. She looked aerial and breakable and Draco was scared to touch her lest she crumbled under his very fingertips. Her wide golden eyes displayed her vulnerability as if she expected Draco to leave, to be disgusted by what he saw, disgusted by what she had become, by what Ron had made her…

He came closer, cautiously and gently lifted one bruised hand and cradled it in his own large ones, bending he kissed her broken knuckles gently.

"Won't you let them heal you sweetheart?" he said his voice coming out strangled, pained. Like looking at her hurt him…

Hermione's eyes grew large and scared and she began to shake in fear. Draco sat down on the cot slowly, treating her like one treats a frightened doe… gentle and slow…. Gentle and slow… gentle and slow…

He cupped her chin fine, delicate face. His large hands warm and calloused rubbing the unconscious tears that had begun to drip down her cheeks, ignoring her retreat. He ran his fingers over each of her features, light like the touch of a moth's wing, first over her soft, pliant mouth then over her poor, bruised nose and Hermione shut her eyes, her breath sighing out as she relaxed under his touch and for the first time in days she felt peace. His gentle fingers continued their journey, brushing over her fluttering eyelids and down to the springy curls at her temples. Like he wanted to memorize each feature again… the sunlight faceted her skin, making even the bruises gleam with a sort of ethereal, inner light. A light that Draco was happy Ron had not been able to blow out.

"Please…" He said his voice a broken rasp of agony. "Please let them heal you.."

When she opened her eyes again they were filled with momentary contentment, Draco looked at her mesmerized and just as he leaned in….

Harry threw opened the door and walked in carrying Scorpius. Setting him down and ignoring Draco murderous eyes, he walked back out. Throwing a casual "You're son wants to be with Hermione." Just as he shut the door.

Hermione smiled faintly, her eyes reflecting the same disappointment. Scorpius gurgled happily obvious to the atmosphere of sweet seductive, passion underlined by both their tortured torment in the room and crawled up to Hermione and held out his teddy.

Draco grinned, forgetting his lost kiss for a second and said. "That's Scorpius's special teddy. He uses it when he falls ill; his grandmother gave it to him. So he must understand that you're in need of some comfort, that's why he's given you his special teddy." Smiling proudly at his son.

The little blond boy curled up next to Hermione and took the teddy back from her, and cradled it in his arms showing her how to rock him to sleep, giving instructions in his sweet baby babble and then settled the toy back in the crook of her arm but not before giving him a kiss. Hermione pulled Scorpius close and hugged him, breathing in the sweet baby scent of him and the pure, innocent energy he gave out. Feeling it give her strength, the baby laughed and happily kissed Hermione on her lips. Draco gave a snort from behind, muttering how Scorpius was definitely a Malfoy. Both the adults burst into laughter and for a few moments Hermione lost herself in the happiness of being a family, forgetting her dark thoughts and nightmares...

….


	25. Life Before Hermione

**_Okay so this chapter is just a small fun bit of Draco's life before Hermione came in. Be sure to REVIEW!_**

**_Raise Me Up_**

_Life before Hermione:_

"Come on son stop! Please…" yelled Draco as he chased his naked baby around the apartment holding Scorpius's clothes. "Scorpius Malfoy stop this instant or I swear to Merlin…" Draco said threateningly as his just bathed, wet baby slid between Draco's legs before he could catch him and ran into the other room…. Giggling!

Draco huffed, he was about ready to tear his hair out, since Scorpius started to walk this had become part of their daily routine. Draco bathed Scorpius; Scorpius threw a tantrum about wearing his clothes and jumped out of Draco's lap and then the next half an hour was spent chasing his naked son around the house till Scorpius was exhausted.

OH! He was the perfect angel when Ginny came over or Harry but rue the day when he was alone with his father… the apartment was a warzone of bedlam and destruction left in the wake of the Great Chase as Draco had now dubbed it. And soon enough he found his giggling son playing with his toys exhausted with all the running around, Draco quietly crept up behind him, making sure to be absolutely silent and reached out to grab the top of his chubby arms and hauling him to his chest.

The baby sucked his fist contently as he looked at his father innocently. Draco grinned wryly down at his son and carried him to his room where he could dress him in peace, "You have everybody fooled don't you buddy?" Draco said amused, the baby cooed, his wide blue eyes guileless and angelic, "No wonder all the girls go crazy after you! All you have to do is flash those eyes, don't you?!" Draco said laughingly while Scorpius gurgled happily. Draco set his son down onto the changing table, deftly diapering his bottom and buttoning up his bright yellow shirt as soon as Draco put him down and promptly Scorp took off, without his shorts….. Draco sighed and just followed his son into the other room, knowing that this was going to be an unending battle and wisely letting it go...

* * *

.

Draco, Harry and Blaise were sitting in the Leaky Cauldron after work for a drink. Scorpius dozed comfortably in his carrier, which was set on top of the table in their booth. Blaise nudged Draco furiously, gesturing with his eyes towards a table of witches clearly out for the night who were looking over at them with suggestive glances and loud twittering giggles…

"Dude!" Blaise hissed, "You have the perfect wingman and a bunch of really fucking hot witches… TAKE ADVANTAGE!"

Draco glared at his best-friend. "I am not using my son to help me score chicks!" he hissed back.

Harry smirked and Blaise whipped around and whisper-yelled at him, "Shut up! You're married and you'll scare them away!"

"They are not a flock of birds… they don't scare so easy man." Harry laughed.

"How would you know, you're married and before that you dated Ginny for like a hundred years. Rules change man, women evolve…" he said scowling, throwing up his hands dramatically. "Now Draco stop being such a Gryffindor pansy and gather you're balls and ask that girl out! She won't say no to you, especially when you have Scorp with you." Blaise said pushing Draco out of the booth.

"No..." Draco glared at him.

"Fine, then I'm taking him." Blaise said hissing, "I haven't gotten laid in forever and Scorpius is the perfect wingman, the both of you are bloody useless!"

Picking up the carrier, Blaise sauntered over to the women.

"Ladies." He said laying on the Italian accent nice and thick.

"Oh he's so adorable!" said one girl with bright red lipstick on as she bent to fawn over Scorpius.

"I know." Said Blaise gravely, "It's my responsibility to look after him today, you see he doesn't have a mother." He said with a fake sad shake of his head. Mentally cheering when he felt the women patting his hand sympathetically.

"What a bastard..." Draco coughed out unbelievingly.

"Totally, though it seems to work." Harry said just as shocked.

Scorpius was awake now and looking at the five women bending over him with interest, fluttering his blond lashes in their direction and eliciting delighted cried from them. The baby in turn reached out with his chubby hands, wanting to be lifted. Blaise picked him up… all the women looked ready to drop their panties any second now. Blaise turned and shot a smirk back at Harry and Draco

"He is totally you're son..." Harry said

"What a bastard…" sighed Draco again.

"What a smart bastard." Grinned Harry. Draco just nodded in agreement.

Both of them, Blaise and Scorpius enjoyed the ladies attention, basking in the glow of their admiration for the rest of the night.

* * *

"Mr. Malfoy." Came the soft voice of his secretary as she shut the door behind her and walked over to where he was sitting behind his desk. Her hips swinging seductively in her cherry red business suit, her low cut jacket hugged her ample breasts and was cut low enough that Draco could see what she was wearing inside.

"Nancy." He greeted her huskily, "How can I help you?"

"Ohh! Mr. Malfoy I think you know exactly how you can help me?" she said, her smile melting, simply sublime as it graced her bright red lips.

Draco just leaned back, an amused smirk adorning his beautifully sculptured lips and his hard, cold eyes tinged with lust.

Nancy took the smirk as encouragement and walked up to him and ripped the white, thousand thread count shirt of his beautiful chest. Her eyes devouring his sculptured abs and well-toned pectoral muscles. She licked her lips and kissed down his chest… stopping just for a second to remove his pants…

* * *

"You know you're going to have to stop with these meaningless one night stands." Harry chastised gently, handing Draco a cup of strong black coffee.

"Gods! You're worse than my mother, stop lecturing!" Draco glared at him.

"Who was it last night?" Harry asked, satisfied when Draco gave him a blank look.

"See you can't even remember her name, you need to find someone better. Who you can settle down with, both you and Scorpius deserve that. He maybe too young to understand what this endless parade of women mean just now. He may never fully understand it ever but don't you owe it to him, not to just keep changing the women like underwear."


	26. Chapter 23: The Story Continues

Me and Mom Chilling and Me on laptop and she goes like "Stop sitting so much on FanFiction, do something else, make pen friends!"

I'm like, "I have pen friends!" Protesting.

She glares at me and says "I meant not someone on fanfiction genius are you seriously so vella(that mean bored and useless in Hindi)"

Me blushing "Oh well in that case, no I don't have any pen friends"

And argument ensues.

And my mum is a huge Potter head + she hates Ron and I'm like half an hour into the argument "Crucio and I hope you marry Ron in the next life."

She like, "Pfft please." And turns and stubs her toe really hard and begins to curse.

Both of us have the MOTHER OF GOD face… and she goes like "Did you just do that?"

I'm like "I have no idea" both in shocked silence…

:P just something I wanted to share.

…

_**Raise Me Up**_

Astoria's hands shook as she slid out of one of the many man holes dotting London's cobbled stoned pathways, she reeked…. Her long hair was unwashed and covered in filth and so was her skin.

She had managed to cast some low grade wandless magic when she was taken and escaped from the back of a moving machine. She had just barely managed to drag her prone body into any available hiding place, she was weak and malnourished and now that she had not had a hit of any drug for the past few days the need for food was becoming rather strong. It was a filthy lane and isolated, Astoria climbed out cautiously and tried to stand straight but her body was so exhausted and in need of nourishment that she couldn't. Using her tattered cloaks hood to cover her head from the icy rain she walked out of the lane and into a sleepy little backstreet, while walking down the road she caught sight of herself in the window of a shop.

Her vibrant blond hair was matted and filthy, her cheekbone stood out in her half-starved face and her wide green eyes that her father had once told her reminded him of the most vibrant Lochs of Ireland were now dulled with pain and fatigue as well as realization. She had been an utter fool; she didn't know what she was thinking when she agreed to do what Marshal had suggested, maybe if she had just swallowed her pride and asked to borrow money from someone she wouldn't be in this mess she thought running her hands over her dress and feeling the hard pokes of her boney ribs press against her hands.

How long had it been since she ate a full meal? Honestly Astoria couldn't even remember, Marshal always told her how much she could eat and how much she couldn't. He didn't want a fat girlfriend he used to say.

Spotting a stand selling fruit and bread she muttered a covert Accio, focusing all her meager strength on the spell. She wanted to shout in triumph when an apple and a small loaf of bread flew through the air and straight into her waiting hands. Astoria hid her treasures under her wrap and leaned against the wall to regain some strength in her limbs before walking away hurriedly.

She returned to the lane where she was before and sat down on the ground, her hands hesitating nervously before she touched her food. The influence of Marshals demeaning comments still strong on her psyche and just as she was about to take a bite of the apple, she felt a sharp pain in her chest and she suddenly lost her breath, it was like she was choking.

Astoria's heart started to pump faster and faster and she saw the world spin out of focus infront of her eyes just as she collapsed….

…

"This way Ms. Brown, Mr. Weasley is in one of the private holding cells as he awaits his trial. I'm sure he would be very glad to see you, he's been talking about you a lot." Said the kind, slightly plump, older guard who let Lavender into the gate of the high security holding cells in the Ministry Of Magic. Lavender gave him a small smile and walked in, clutching the strap of her purse tightly and avoiding the eyes of all the inmates, some of whom were giving her rather lascivious looks.

A shudder passed down her back as she increased her pace; she had certainly grown since her days at Hogwarts. Her blonde hair was cut in a short pixie 'do displaying her high cheekbones and deep set blue eyes perfectly, her long coltish legs were displayed in a knee length summer dress, that was nipped at the hips, showing of her tiny waist and small, firm breasts and well sculptured upper arms to perfection.

She had dressed to impress Ron, her old flame. Turning the corner she caught sight of a shaggy ginger head and began to walk even faster. She really wanted to talk to him; he had always been good to her. A little neglectful but none the less good, she wanted to find out from him if these allegations were true! Till then she was not going to believe a word written by that horrible Skeeter woman!

She rushed to forward and called out "Ron, it's me Lavender." But was shocked by what met her eyes, Ron Weasley could at one time have been described as attractive of perhaps charming but now his eyes were bloodshot and droopy, dark circles marred his pasty, sickly looking skin. His whole body had an air of neglect, his unshaved jaw, his receding hairline, his sagging body.

Ron Weasley looked much older than his twenty six years. "I'm sorry." Said Lavender apologetically. "I got excited and mistook you for someone else sir, could you point me to where Ron Weasley cell is please?"

"Forgotten me so easily Lav?" rasped the man in the cell. "It's me Ron!"

Lavender hid her shock well and reached through the cell bars to hold on to his extended hand. "I'm so sorry Ron." She said laughing nervously.

Ron didn't bother to hide the anger from his expression. Lavender unfortunately was the submissive sort, automatically becoming obedient when rebuked by someone she was fond of.

The guard opened up the cell with his wand and Lavender stepped inside and sat down on the table set up in the center of the room for visitors. Ron sat down opposite her and took a hold of her hand, "You're the first one to come visit me, you know?" he said in a faux gentle and soul-hurt voice.

Lavender looked up at him surprised, "Really! I honestly thought your family didn't believe what all they were printing!"

Ron snarled angrily, and cut out harshly "Let's not talk about my family!"

Lavender recoiled immediately and again Ron gentled his tone. "I'd rather talk about you. How's the modeling going?"

"Not so well I'm afraid." She sighed. "I'm not getting any decent offers and the fact that I didn't go to university after Hogwarts won't get me a ministry job. So I'm currently working as a barista in Diogan Ally just to make ends meet."

Ron gave her a contemplative look and said, "What if I could…. Say help you get work?"

"What would I have to do?" asked Lavender hesitantly.

"Oh.. nothing much… but if you don't want me to help?" Ron let his voice trail of suggestively.

Lavender immediately nodded her head and cried out, "I'd love your help!"

"Really?" said Ron skeptically.

"Yes really!" Lavender said happily.

"Just help me out a bit with the trial…. You know be there when I'm in the witness chair, and a couple other things. If you agree my lawyer will talk to you and tell you what it entails."

Lavender just nodded and for the rest of her visit they talked mundane things and in an hour or so she left, informed by Ron that his lawyer Andrea would see her tonight and discuss her helping out Ron.

…

Later in the evening Lavender was just heating up some water to make herself some tea when she heard a knock on her apartment door, wondering who it could be at this time of the day she rushed to answer the door.

She was greeted by the sight of a chic woman in her early 30s with scraped back red hair and wide dark eyes framed by catseye glasses, Lavender suddenly felt rather dowdy in her well-worn jeans and a loose T-shirt infront of this woman who was dressed in an all-black pantsuit, clearly designer with patent four and a half inch pumps and a four strand string of the palest pink pearls, the woman eyes slid over Lavender, summing her up and clearly finding her lacking she opened her perfectly made up cherry pink mouth and said, "Good Evening Ms. Brown. My name is Andrea, I am Mr. Weasleys lawyer. May I come in I have some things to discuss with you?" in a cold, harsh voice.

Blushing Lavender moved aside and muttered, "Please. Can I get you something? Coffee? Tea?"

Andrea shook her head negatively and moved gracefully to Lavender's worn velvet couch, rolling her eyes disdainfully over it before brushing a pale, white hand to clear imaginary dirt and then sat down stiffly.

Lavender grabbed a chair and sat down next to her, watching carefully as Andrea withdrew a number of documents from her leather briefcase and set them down on the living room table.

"What are these?" Lavender asked confused and Andrea gave a long suffering sigh and rattled out, "Confidentiality Contract, Secrecy Clause and Money Transfer offers for your work or rather support, courtesy ."

"Confidentiality Contract, Secrecy Clause? Why in the world would we need that!?" Lavender said shocked.

"Didn't Mr. Weasley explain fully?"

Lavender shook her head and Andrea just rolled her eyes.

"You are going to the proxy, Throw a scene and accuse Hermione Granger for trying to get attention and lying and using Ron Weasley to do it."

Lavender sat shocked! She couldn't believe it! So it was true what they were saying…. That's why Ron wrote to her, to use her!

But suddenly she was afraid, what if she said no and he did to her what he did to Hermione? Lavender kept her face neutral and turned to Andrea who was regarding her with a raised eyebrow.

"Tell Mr. Weasley that I said that I would think about it."

And ushered the lawyer out of her house, she would go and see Hermione decided Lavender; there was no time to waste. She hurriedly donned her cloak and ran to her fireplace, grabbing a bit of Floo Powder she called out a hasty "St. Mungos" and collapsed into one of the waiting rooms of the hospital.

She hurried to the front desk and asked for the room number of Hermione Granger, going up the stairs to the private rooms.

"Lavender?! What are you doing here?" came the surprised voice of Ginny Weasley from behind her.

"I need to see Hermione! It's urgent!" she huffed out.

"Hermione isn't seeing anyone right now…" said Ginny suspiciously, "Anything you need to say, you're going to have to say to me or to Harry or Draco."

"Draco? As in Draco Malfoy!?" Lavender asked incredulously.

"Yes..." said Ginny coldly.

Sensing a rather off limits topic she just told Ginny to get Harry and if need be _Draco_ so that she could tell them what happened.

Soon Ginny, Draco and Harry were sitting on the hard hospital chairs and gaping at Lavender as she told them what happened….

…..

"Can someone help me!" cried a black coated man as he yelled in the reception Saint James hospital in Chelsea. He was carrying a thin girl with long blonde hair who was skinny almost to the point of non-existence.

"I found her lying on the road, she needs help!"

The doctor rushed forward and the nurses followed with a gurney and I.V fluids.

"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to let her go. We can take it from here." Said the Doctor calmly sliding the girl onto the gurney and running his stethoscope over her chest, the nurses hooked her onto the cardiomoniter and Intra Vinous Lines, suddenly a loud beep came from the monitor and the line that was jagged till now evened out.

"Asystole! Someone get me the paddles!"

"Charge to 100, clear!"

The blonde's body shook with the shock passed through it.

"Charge to 200, clear! Comeon!"

And suddenly the beeping returned to its normal rhythm and the jagged lines returned to the screen….

"Her heart stopped because there is not enough food in her system. This girl almost died due to Anorexia…"

….


	27. Chapter 24: Alike

_**Reviews please : ) this chapter made me brawl my eyes out, so don't forget to review! **_

…_**...**_

_**Raise Me Up**_

Hermione woke up sweating and her mouth open in a silent scream, it was dark and silent Draco was holding her hand and sitting in a chair beside her asleep and Scorpius was curled up next to her, his diapered bottom in the air and making soft, small sucking sounds in his sleep. She curled back against her pillow and tried to shut her eyes, shaken by her nightmare. It was about Ron…. Dark and damp and cold… so cold… getting up she pushed the covers of herself and walked to the door of her room and pushed it open, looking at Draco and Scorpius one last time before she walked out…

Was she being cruel to them? Didn't Draco deserve someone whole and Scorpius didn't he deserve someone who wasn't haunted by nightmares? Maybe it was wrong of her to be so selfish and to want them to herself… she loved Scorpius and maybe she was a little in love with Draco but she was damaged and torn and frayed like someone who had been ripped apart and put back together too many times, the scars showed and Draco couldn't look after her as well as Scorpius she thought as she wandered over the floor she was staying in, it was dark and tiny pinpricks of light shone through closed doors. She was determined to get better, she was determined to overcome this hold that Ron had in her life, she was determined to deserve to be with Draco and she was determined to get better for Scorpius's sake…

As she turned the corner a shuffling sound caught her attention and Hermione swung around alarmed and rushed back to her room.

Astoria Greengrass crept out of the shadows and into the hallway following Hermione stealthy back to her room; they had kicked her out of the muggle hospital because she couldn't afford to pay for more treatment.

She came here to steal some potions but then she caught sight of Hermione and began to follow her, Astoria saw a bushy head of hair disappearing into a small room at the end of the hallway and she followed, waiting for a bit before pushing the door open and looking into the room silently.

Scorpius was awake and Granger was rocking him to sleep, even from where she stood Astoria could make out the love lighting up Grangers face when she held the little boy and Scorpius who regarded her with such peace and contentment.

Astoria felt something heavy on her chest and tears filled her eyes. She may never have her son but it made her happy to see someone who loved her son like her own, it was so precious … this love and so very fleeting. Like the flutter of the wings of a butterfly, light and warm… it tugged her heart apart, she felt such bittersweet happiness looking at them. Bitter because she had wanted to hold her child like that one day and cruel because she knew that she would never be a fit or deserving mother for her little boy… and just as she could bare it no more and was about to shut the door Granger looked up.

First her face registered shock and then fear but gradually Hermione made out that she wasn't a threat.

The expression on Astoria's face was so broken, so desolate as she looked at her son that Hermione felt a bolt of pity and understanding strike though her. She walked to the door and Astoria stepped back, Hermione left the room and shut the door behind her Scorpius still in her arms. Astoria's expression didn't change; her eyes devoured her son hungrily as if someone starved of love.

"I needed to see him once, for myself. I'm sorry if my being here is causing you trouble I can leave." She said softly, her eyes never leaving Scorpius.

"I couldn't bear to look at him or be close to him when we took him for money, despite what you think of me… despite what I am… it hurt too much, I felt like my heart would burst with guilt and all day I would pray that someone heard him, in a little corner of my heart because I dared not let Marshal know. Every day to listen to him cry and to know… to know I was the cause of those tears. It broke me a little inside each day… until now I'm afraid that is all I am… pieces of regret… pieces that can never be whole again" Astoria said brokenly looking at her now sleeping child. "Would it be too much to ask for your forgiveness, even though I don't deserve it?"

Hermione smiled gently, "Thank God for you then I'm a forgiving person. Astoria I cannot judge the choices you have made in your life… it is not my place but…" she said lifting her hand and placing it on Astoria's heart, "The heart is a silly thing and it makes mistakes and it carries guilt. How much guilt have you carried all your life? I am not trying to trivialize what you did; I'm not trying to justify it. I am just saying that maybe forgiveness is not that hard to come by if you just… "

Astoria's eyes never left her son as tears began to pore down her face, "If I told you, I did what I did for someone I loved…Someone I truly truly truly loved and that he broke me and I'm sorry… so very very sorry." She whispered not to Hermione but to the baby. "So sorry… but I'm glad." She said with a fierce look on her face as she looked up at Hermione, "I'm glad he will never know what I did to him. That makes me selfish doesn't it, it makes me cruel and undeserving and malicious… it does, doesn't it?"

"No mother wants their child to know they made mistakes in their life Astoria… after all we are human and you did something that all humans do, you made a mistake… albeit yours was bigger than most but a mistake. So move on, we cannot wipe out our pasts but we can strive to move forward. Fight! Fight to move forward, fight to leave behind your mistakes but not forget them, fight for the light at the end of the tunnel, fight for redemption, for your sons love. Fight because you're worth it…"

"What did Weasley do to you?" Astoria asked her tentatively.

Hermione's face darkened and she said in a stark voice, "He nearly destroyed my soul…"

Astoria looked at her and said, "Can I tell you something? I think you'll understand…"

Hermione just nodded and looked at the other girls bleak eyes and knew… perhaps they weren't that different after all….

….


	28. Chapter 25: True Love's First Kiss

_**VERY- VERY Important (Please Read)**_

Okay so hey and sorry for the long wait, truly I was caught up in my other story and a couple of issues I am having with fanfiction. So guys I wanted to tell you I have decided to venture into unknown territory and write a story on Tom Riddle Jr. I would love for all of you to check it out; it's called the _**Tale of Falling Darkness **_and it is not Romance, its Angst and Horror. I am so excited about it! And also kind of worried about how it's going to turn out. So I would love if you guys have a look at it, : )if you are interested. And all the people who do read _**When the Butterflies Fly Home **_and are reading this, my next update will be kind of late maybe this weekend? I don't really know… and I will try to update all my stories as soon as possible, but I do have commitments to school. I am currently in the 11th grade so it's getting hectic.

Also I would like to say that none of my stories are abandoned, I will complete all of them. _**When a God loves a commoner **_is going to be taken down and rewritten after I am done with Raise Me Up, Also I have an idea… all the people who ship only _**Dramione**_ and have more than 2 stories I think we can start a decent Dramione community because I was going through the forums and communities and I noticed no one has ever made a decent Draco Malfoy X Hermione Granger community. So all of you interested get back to me as soon as possible,

_**I am also taking oneshot requests now; for birthdays and other ity-bity little stories you want me to write. **_

_**BUT ONLY DRAMIONE . **_

* * *

_**Raise me Up**_

Hermione Granger felt a sense of déjà vu as she sat opposite Astoria in the café situated on the fourth floor of Saint. Mungos. Déjà vu because she had been in the exact same place Astoria was now.

First came the anger, then the denial and then finally resigned acceptance and a sense of weakness and hopelessness and then came the worst…. The blame.

Hermione knew because she had gone through all this when she left Ron albeit with her muggle psychiatrist and her therapy group. It was hard talking about abuse, any kind of abuse but having someone who had or has or is experiencing it always seems to make the individual more comfortable in talking about their problems.

Astoria sat on the chair with her elbows resting on the table top, her hands wrapped around her mug of tea to keep them warm and her eyes worried.

"It's okay… I can wait till you're ready to talk." Said Hermione reaching out and clutching one of Astoria's thin hands in her own.

Astoria just looked at her with grateful eyes and for a moment just shut her eyes, and then said, "I wonder how you did it? I mean I knew I wanted to get away from Marshal but I also knew I loved him and I was not supposed to abandon him."

"The thing is we women clutch at things like love and peace and we think that even if the 'love' turns violent we have to stay with our men because otherwise no one else will love us, this creates a conflict within us. Our love for peace and our love for love are always at war especially for women like us. And I won't lie to you Astoria it will be very hard for you to redeem yourself and begin again but the first thing is that we need to get you sober." Said Hermione with a grim expression.

Astoria nodded and tightened her hold on Hermione's hand and gave her a grateful smile, "I don't know how I can ever make it up to you and I don't know how to thank you but I have one favor to ask, can you please not tell Draco about you and me meeting until I am atleast sober and back on my feet."

Hermione nodded and smiled at the older girl and said, "We should get you checked into a detox center as soon as possible. I am getting discharged today and Draco is taking me back to his apartment; when he is out at work I'll sneak out and we'll go together. You don't have to go through this alone, I will help you out." She said with a determined light in her eyes.

Astoria just gave her a scared look, "What if I can't do it?" she said in a hushed whisper, a wobble in her tenor betraying her fear.

"You have to try! Astoria from what you just told me, you could have nearly died because of the drugs. You have to take care of yourself… eat well; get rid of the toxins in your system. If not for yourself do it for Scorpius. You told me you want to try to be a part of his life… well then buck up and earn it! Draco is not going to give you a chance that easily… you have to show some improvement. It's time to grow up sweetie, you are not a child anymore." Hermione said with a stern expression.

Astoria looked contrite and just slumped forward, "It's going to be a lot of work, isn't it?" she said tiredly.

Hermione shrugged and said, "It'll only be as hard as **you **make it out to be. Now I have to get going and listen don't eat anything yet, your body has been deprived of food for very long if you do eat now your body will go into shock and you will fall very sick. We need to get you into a rehabilitation center before your body goes into withdrawal, so remember small quantities of food in short intervals. Boiled fish, greens, fruits… nothing fried your body is not yet ready to handle oil and no red meat. Understand? And listen I will give you some money, stay someplace decent, just tell me where and **not** in Nocturne Ally, stay in Diagon Ally and I will come find you." she said her tone become the same bossy tenor that reminded Astoria of when they were in Hogwarts.

"Astoria, we are going to do this. You and me…" she said gentling her tone as she saw the other girls resigned face.

"How do you know so much about all this?" Astoria said quizzical.

"What? Did you think you were the only person who used drugs to escape reality?" Hermione said with a bleak expression as she turned and walked out of the café.

She didn't know why, but it was easier for Hermione to focus on getting Astoria better than her own problems. One at a time she reminded herself wryly, she would handle everything one at a time….

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"Are you sure you're okay with me going to work today." Said Draco gruffly, smirking down at the deep red face of Hermione who was looking away from him.

"I'm fine, really Draco… go!" she squeaked out. "And umm... could you… paa.. ple.. please put me down? It's very distracting." She said blushing even harder.

Draco just laughed his deep throaty laugh, his chest shaking against her breasts, his beautiful, very muscled… hard chest. She may have been held captive by a lunatic and she may be wary of physical relationships but even Hermione knew how to appreciate a man as _fine_ as Draco Malfoy.

With exaggerated slowness he set her down on the bed and Hermione knew that was not him teasing. He treated her like fine china that could break with a false move.

All of Draco's moves and his thoughts were directed towards Hermione's comfort and peace and she felt guilty for lying to him about staying home. Scorpius was with his grandmother in the mansion and Draco needed to Floo to China for a very important meeting with his head of the China office and the Chinese Integrated Foreign Trades Officer and then he had to attend a bid for a new company going on the block.

Draco was back from vacation, his real demands began now. Malfoy Industries was expanding to the Southern Americas and to Africa and Draco had to oversee all the mergers and acquisitions for a smooth takeover. He hurriedly changed into a form fitting black three piece muggle suit, his silvery-gray shirt matching his eyes, making them slumberous. Hermione watched as he shrugged on the jacket with practiced ease and pulled out a length of plum silk.

"Here," she whispered, "Let me do that, I used to do it for my dad."

Standing on the bed she almost reached his face and gently she wound the silk tie around his collar and began to knot it. Draco's eyes never left her face, taking in her tongue which was sticking out in concentration to her wide and guileless golden eyes.

At the same time she looked up, he looked down and their eyes locked. Hermione's breath came out in erratic puffs and Draco's eyes darkened as he looked at her soft, unadorned lips.

"I'm going to miss you..." he said hoarsely.

"I'm going to miss you too…" she whispered, the air around them crackled with intensity and Draco leaned down and kissed her lips, light and soft… seeing if she would respond. Hermione fought the urge to jump away and just let the drugging warmth of his kiss seep through her bones. She opened her lips to let him in, winding her arms around his neck and pressing closer. Draco raised his hands and held her petit hips, kissing her harder now. His mouth plundering the sweet recesses of hers. Hermione's eyes fluttered shut, as little by little his kiss chipped away her fear. Draco had never experienced sweetness like hers all his life. If he didn't need to breathe he would have continued kissing her all his life…

Lifting his head reluctantly he pulled away from her, smirking at her blushing cheeks.

"I'll see you soon. Be good…" He said and winked before sauntering out of the room and to the fireplace.

Hermione stood still, her fingers pressing her lips and her wide eyes elated. She could still feel the imprint of his lips of hers and her mouth spread into an idiotic, goofy smile. She felt like running around screaming in joy but for now she just settled for dropping onto his bed and screaming her joy into his pillow. She was behaving like an adolescent fangirl … no check that, Hermione never behaved like this even as a teenager. That's just the effect of the Malfoy charm she thought dreamily, her head and heart floating among the clouds in the sky.

She glanced to her side and saw the clock, it was nine and Hermione quickly got up and dressed. She was meeting Astoria in fifteen minutes to take her to the Bakersfield Clinic a first class detox and rehab facility.

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	29. Chapter 26: Meeting Berry

_**Yo, just something I wanted to tell ya'll I am not a medical professional, I am 17 still in school :P.**_

_**Anyway please… please… please review! **_

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_**Raise Me Up**_

Hermione walked down Diagon Ally in the warm sunshine, basking in its heat and feeling pleasantly light, right now the weight of her woes was masked behind a screen of happy fog. It was like with one touch Draco had taken all her worries and tossed them into the wind.

The bustling shoppers; the little witches haggling with the shopkeepers, the somber looking wizards sitting and sipping their drinks in the spring sunshine, the shrieking children who wove between the adults legs… laughing and enjoying themselves, their parents running after them; all caused Hermione's heart strings to tug in a strange sort of melancholy. It had been so long since she ventured out of her safe little world that she had forgotten how…. alive everything was. She took it all in, the sights, the sounds, the scents breathing in air tinted with the sweet perfume of freedom and absence of fear.

Oh... she was not deluded, she knew that her happiness would not last long, Ron was on the warpath and his lawyer was very-very good according to Blaise who was representing her. Pushing the heavy rather foreboding thoughts of the oncoming trial and her meeting with Ron away she continued down the old cobblestoned lane to the small inn at the end of the Ally.

The Leaky Cauldron both she and Astoria had decided was too dangerous to risk. Hermione's friends and former co-workers frequented it during their lunch hour. Also Astoria was a wanted fugitive, when Hermione learned that she had sold her wand, Hermione had cast a few charms that would keep her inconspicuous for a few hours but not more than that.

So she needed to get her to the detox center as fast as possible, later she was planning to talk to Ginny about what she would do or how she would go about telling Draco, explaining to him why she had done what she had.

Narcissa was dropping of Scorpius later in the afternoon and Hermione's stomach was already fluttering at the prospect of finally meeting her. She and Draco had never really defined their relationship; so Hermione wasn't sure exactly how she fit into his life, she just knew that they were together… what had stated out as a tentative friendship had developed into something more… they could never be friends anyway thought Hermione amused, they were always much too intense in their emotions directed towards each other to be just …. Friends…

Hermione entered the inn and smiled at the elf sitting behind the desk, her large blue-green eyes widening further when she saw Hermione. She was the prettiest house-elf Hermione had ever seen, her nose was slim and long set above a warm, smiling mouth. She was dressed in an orange and pink slip, with dainty ballerina slippers and a matching hat, with her large ears tucked under.

"Miss. Granger." She squeaked out, nearly topping of her stool in her excitement.

"Hello." Smiled Hermione wondering how she knew her name.

"Oh Miss! Berry is wanting to meet the great Hermione Granger for so long now and you is walking into my masters inn!" she jumped up exited, running around the desk to hug Hermione around the legs with her thin arms.

"I is the niece of my uncle Dobby, he was telling me so much about the 'Great Miss Hermione Granger' Berry was very fond of her uncle; because of him Berry is now working for wages. My master is giving Berry 2 galleons a week and free lodging! Berry was very sad when her uncle died." Said the little elf, her eyes lowering sadly, "But she is also proud that he died to save Miss. Granger!"

Hermione looked down astounded by the pretty little elf… she was Dobby's niece! And then Hermione did something she had not done in years, she lifted her right hand and ran her fingers of the deep 'Mudblood' scar on her forearm. She could always have it removed, but Hermione had chosen to keep it as a tribute to the memory of the brave elf that saved her and her friends life.

And now even from his grave Dobby was making a difference, she thought with tears.

"Berry you are a free elf…"

"I is, Miss. Just like my uncle was!" said Berry proudly, her cheeks flushing with happiness. "Come Miss, I is wanting to ask you so many-many questions!" she said throwing up her hands dramatically and pulling Hermione to one of the leather chairs set in the reception.

Hermione looked at her watch; she still had fifteen minutes so she sat down, curious to know this little elf.

"Berry is hearing so much about you miss from her uncle, so Berry says to her uncle 'I will go and see the miss and I will help her with the S.P.E.W!' and Berry's uncle said first Berry should study, so Berry learnt English and now she can read the Daily Prophet every day!" she explained proudly, "Berry doesn't have any parents, so Berry traveled all around the country with her uncle and learned to cook all sorts of delicious things. Does the miss want a strawberry tart?" before Hermione could respond the talkative elf continued her story, waving her small hands excitedly.

"Berry is not liking Quidditch much, she is liking Football more but Berry is being employed by a Quidditch team anyway because they is loving her cooking." She said blushing shyly, "And all the team members are giving Berry pretty clothes when Berry is leaving. Berry likes dresses and skirts very much, she doesn't like pants." She said making a face and twirling in front of Hermione, "How is miss liking this dress, Berry's uncle gave it to her and it is Berry's… favorite!" she said twirling again, her mouth unfurling into a bright smile. "Oh! Berry is being such a bad host! Berry is bringing you something to munch right away miss!" she said happily.

Hermione started to laugh at the antics of the elf and said to her, "Berry there is somewhere I have to go now but I want you to tell me when your next holiday is. I will take you to see your uncle's best friend."

Berry's ears drooped sadly and the she brightened again and said to Hermione, "Miss is you taking me to see…" she took a deep breath and her eyes widened and her hands clutched her dress excitedly. "Is you taking me to see… Harry Potter!?" she said in awe.

Hermione nodded and was met with an attack of arms, Berry hugged her tightly around the legs, saying thank you over and over again.

Soon Hermione took her leave of Berry; still grinning after her surprise meeting with the animated little creature and climbed up the stairs to the room Astoria was occupying.

Pushing the door open she saw Astoria about to take something, a white powdery substance that she was going to snort. Her hands were shaking and tears were falling down her cheeks as she kept chanting and shaking.

Hermione rushed into the room and tried to hold on to the rocking Astoria, "I can't do it, I'm sorry, I'm sorry… I'm sorry." She slurred.

Hermione knew that Astoria's body was going into withdrawal and she hurriedly caught her hand and in a leap of luck she managed to apparate out of the room, she landed in a field.

The Bakersfield Clinic was in the country and Hermione was lucky no one saw her, she struggled to put her arm around the sweating and delirious Astoria and began to walk to the Clinic, and she could not use magic because it was a muggle facility. With the wizerding world's population as small as it was; certain facilities like a detox clinic were not available. So they had to go the muggle route.

As soon as the large ranch style rambling house came into view Hermione breathed a sigh of relief, all the way there Astoria had been feverish and had been vomiting. Hermione knew without the proper medications Astoria's body depleted as it was would not be able to handle the strain.

When one of the staff spotted them they hurried out and took Astoria's limp body, which was leaning on her almost fully. Hermione went into the reception and filled out all the paperwork and then was taken to the clinic where Astoria was now resting; dosed and out of danger… for the moment.

"I'll stay till she wakes up." She told the attendant and sat down near the bed to wait.

Four hours later Astoria woke up, her body ached and her head was pounding. She felt heavy, leaden and lethargic.

Hermione got up and called out to the nurse who came in followed by a doctor who checked her vitals and medication and then gave her thorough physical examination.

Hermione stayed… she stayed when the councilor came to talk to Astoria… she stayed until they dosed her again and she fell asleep.

Hermione kept her promise… she was not letting her go thought it alone.

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	30. Chapter 27: Special

_Okay I am not one to bribe but I am now…. I wanna reach more than a thousand reviews before this story is over. So everyone review and you get __**TWO**__ new chapters tomorrow! (God I feel terrible :P, I am a sick.. sick person) and all the really serious people don't get offended this is a joke! (or maybe it isn't… you won't know till you review :D). _

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_**Raise Me Up**_

Hermione sat sipping a cup of tea as she flipped though her newly bought book, it was kind of clichéd and ridiculous but she wanted to be prepared. _**Raising Troubled Kids: Help for Parents of Children With Mental Illness or Emotional Disorders **_by the muggle author Margret Puckette.

Hermione had done her research on Angelman's, unfortunately though it had only been diagnosed in 1965 by Dr. Harry Angelman, an English physician who first described three children with characteristics now known as the Angelman syndrome. He noted that all had a stiff, jerky gait, absent speech, excessive laughter and seizures. Other cases were eventually published but the condition is considered to be extremely rare and many physicians doubted its existence. Until recently when more and more cases began to be reported in local hospitals. Angelman syndrome was discovered accidentally by the doctor who hypothesized that no illness other than Angelman has that amount of happiness associated with it. And still there was no medicine to manage the often times out of the blue seizures.

Hermione had never experienced one of Scorpius's tantrums but according to the book they were pretty severe, Hermione didn't know how she would handle them if they did set in. Angelman's kids tantrums were along the lines of; biting, hitting or harming themselves (like banging their head against the wall or any hard surface) screaming hysterically or throwing themselves back (falling on the floor or banging up against a table) when they didn't get the attention they wanted or if their parents were busy with something else and they wanted them.

Putting down the book, she thought over it, Draco had told her Scorpius's sure fire calming agent was water, according to her book some parents found only sedation or physically restraining their children helpful while others mentioned singing or T.V shows with their favorite cartoons. Children with Angelman syndrome have no or minimal verbal language. Receptive language is much greater than expressive therefore no calming agent was foolproof and Hermione was worried with Scorpius's fascination with water, what if he wandered somewhere without Draco or her or Narcissa or any adult and saw water and drowned? She had gone a little crazy while purchasing the books, so that she had multiple sources to consult.

She remembered reading in the clinic guild of Mayo that Angelman's kids with speech therapy could form simple sentences and that got her thinking about the possibilities, what if the magic in Scorpius's blood and body could help? After all wizards were known to have faster regeneration of cells and were better equipped in the healing department.

Her eyes scanned the guide, as she mentally made a check of all the therapies she had to take Scorpius to and all the medication she had to keep in the house. Looking after her baby was a full time job and Hermione was scared to mess up.

She made up a list outlining all of what she had to do,

** -seizure medication.** Medication may be necessary to control seizures caused by Angelman syndrome.

** therapy.** Children with Angelman syndrome may learn to walk better and overcome other movement problems with the help of physical therapy.

** therapy.** Although people with Angelman syndrome usually don't develop verbal language beyond simple sentences, communication therapy can be helpful. Nonverbal language skills may be developed through sign language and picture communication.

** therapy.** Behavior therapy can help children with Angelman syndrome overcome hyperactivity and a short attention span, which can aid in developmental progress. Although the level of development people with Angelman syndrome can achieve varies widely, many are outgoing and are able to build relationships with friends and family.

Narcissa had taken Scorpius to therapy today but Hermione was going to for the next week while Draco was away; he didn't want to leave but unfortunately the meetings he was in were unavoidable. Ginny was coming over to stay the night and so was Narcissa they wanted to make sure Hermione didn't have any trouble with baby.

A knock on the door sent her to her feet; Hermione ignored all the fallen books and rushed to get the door. Outside stood an elegant, chic yet pleasantly understatedly dressed Narcissa Malfoy, they last time Hermione had seen the blonde woman she was being tortured by Bellatrix, that time Narcissa's face had been pale and papery, pinched and lined with strain, now she had a look of utter peace on her smooth unblemished face, the crowning glory was the warm smile she wore on her lips.

"Hello!" she said in her enthusiastic yet mellow voice, keeping it low because Scorpius was fast asleep in his carrier.

"Hi Mrs. Malfoy." said Hermione shyly, letting her in.

"Narcissa please and if you don't mind can I call you Hermione."

"I'd like that very much." Said Hermione with a blush, she was extremely shy around new people, she may have known Narcissa for a long time but this was the first time they were meeting on pleasant terms rather than in combat.

Narcissa entered her sons flat and looked around, smiling approvingly when she was all the books on parenting that Hermione had been devouring religiously rather like a zealot, and she laid her hand on Hermione shoulder and smiled. "No need to be so worried, I'll be there to help you." She said reassuringly

"Come we'll put the little man down, he is exhausted." She said carrying the light green felt lined carrier to Scorpius's nursery. "This is the one time he sleeps without interruptions; therapy exhausts him so much." She said looking down lovingly at her grandson who was fast asleep with a fist jammed in his mouth. Running her hands over his downy, soft blond head she pushed open the door to his nursery.

Scorpius's nursery was the best money could buy, Draco had gone a little crazy but Hermione had to admit it was the loveliest room in the house, the dappled sun shone over light blue walls and a large colorful fresco of fishes and other marine animals dominated one wall, the other was painted yellow with the scene of a safari; giraffes, lions, zebras, deer peeking out from behind tall savanna grass. The rest of the room had shelves and shelves of story books and toys, stuffed animals, everything a little boy could want.

Right in the middle of the room was an old, lovely golden maple crib and in the corner an old ash rocker. From the ceiling hung paper-cranes in origami that blew with the breeze and colorful glass balls that reflected light, faceting it.

"The rocker and the crib have been in the family from centuries." Said Narcissa proudly, "Draco slept in this too." She smiled, reminiscing. "Me and Lucius had a lot of trouble getting pregnant as is the case with most pureblood couples; our blood has become so concentrated because of the wrong misconception that we had of bloodlines, in an effort to keep our bloodlines pure we inter-married and so most of the children are born retarder or with physical disabilities or the women cannot get pregnant altogether. That is the case even in Scorpius's birth." She explained. "When Draco was born I was ecstatic! I could not have cared less if he had an extra head and flippers as feet. I loved him…" she said with a far off look in her eyes, "I would have done anything for my baby boy and now I feel the same way about my grandson; I couldn't care less if he ill or he will never go to Hogwarts. I am just happy he is alive and healthy as he can be." She said fiercely.

Hermione felt a deep tide of admiration for this woman…

"Here you put him down; I'll go call on Ginny." Said Narcissa, leaving the room. Hermione lifted the plump baby from his velvet lined carrier and hugged him close for the second, inhaling his sweet mango and raspberry scent before pulling back the sheets of his bed and tucking him in. she placed a kiss on his soft cheek and ran her hand over his head… he was so special her angel, Hermione would do the very best to be there for him always she vowed.

Dimming the lights and switching on his jade and ivory music box that played Chopin's Nocturnes Hermione left the room, shutting the door behind her quietly…..

…..


	31. Chapter 28: Getting Sloshed

**REVIEWS… REVIEWSS… REVIEWSSS! **

**I had loads of fun writing this chapter. :D Do not forget to review!**

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_**Raise Me Up**_

"We should get drunker…" said Ginny dreamily. Hermione giggled hysterically her wine glass tipping precariously. "We should and we should get ice-cream!" she said her eyes going wide as she clutched Ginny's arm. Earlier in the evening Ginny had arrived at the apartment with two bottles of very potent Elder Flower Wine and Chinese takeout from the muggle place around the corner. And now the three women were on the couch, pleasantly buzzed.

Hermione hadn't felt this light since her days at _**Blakely Prep **_where she had gone after Hogwarts, to peruse medicine. It was the best undergrad program for healers in the Wizerding World but she had dropped out halfway through her fourth semester because she could not handle Ron's jealous anger every time she had group study with other guys or when she was partnered with boy.

"More wine?" asked a grinning Ginny.

"Hell yes," said Hermione holding out her glass and looked to where Narcissa was out for the count, having finished nearly one bottle by herself.

"You know I would love to do Draco…" said Ginny contemplatively, taking a swing of her wine.

"Ginny!" Hermione gasped scandalized, "You are married… to my best friend!"

"There's no law against fantasizing you know." She said giggling a little crazily.

"Besides all you can do is dream, he is mine after all." Hermione slurred out.

Both the girls collapsed on the floor laughing maniacally. "We should buy you lingerie!" said Ginny, "We can order it right now!

"We should!" said Hermione grinning madly.

"Wait here." Said Ginny as she got up and stumbled to the fireplace. Throwing a bit of Floo powder into the flames she stuck her head in and called out, "Harry! Harry darling… yes dear it's me. Yes I am having a blast and yes I am drunk. Harry James Potter…. You naughty boy! I'm not that pissed yet!" Said Ginny giggling.

Hermione gagged, while Ginny continued to flirt with her husband for the next few minutes.

"Okay darling could you just send Rowena with my lingerie catalogues to Draco's house. Oh don't play innocent Harry I know that you know exactly where they are! We're buying Hermione some sexy panties." Ginny giggled, Harry yelled out from behind her, "I did NOT need to hear that!"

"Oh get over it darling, Hermione is a woman and she need to be sexyyy for her man." Ginny said wiggling her brows suggestively.

Ignoring Harry's gagging sounds she said, "How would you like it if bought some for myself too?" She smirked drunkenly.

"The purple and black one? Oh you kinky- kinky man!" she cackled. "If I wasn't sloshed I would totally aparate home right now."

Hermione poured herself another glass feeling very-very wasted now, so this was Ginny's plan… get her boozed up and then buy her sexy underwear. Suddenly Hermione had mental picture of herself doing a strip tease with a feather boa and tripping and breaking her face. Her tipsy laughter permeated through the entire apartment, causing Narcissa to snort and cuss in her sleep.

Soon enough she and Ginny heard the tapping of an owl's beak on the window, Ginny stumbled up and opened the window. Lavishing praise on her confused owl after taking the catalogues and stumbling back to Hermione. She sat down heavily, passing one of the pamphlets to Hermione.

It read, _**Bewitching Lingerie (thongs, push-ups, garters etc…) bringing Magic into you Boudoir**_

_**Since 1990**_

_**Make your wizard and his wand come alive! (Now available in S and M themes too!)**_

_**Paris, Hogsmead, London, Berlin **_

Hermione giggled at the picture of a busty blonde woman dressed in a minuscule thong with her hands covering her breasts and her mouth parted in an 'O' as if someone clicked her without her knowing.

"See anything you like?" chortled Ginny, going over her own catalogue.

"Not yet… you?"

Ginny sniggered wickedly and pointed out a purple and black latex cat-suit with matching fuzzy purple handcuffs.

"Harry wants you to get that?" smirked Hermione, "Kinky…!" and both the women collapsed laughing.

"Okay enough of this; let's look for something to surprise your man with." Said Ginny enthusiastically.

The girls flipped though the pamphlets until Hermione spotted the most heart stoppingly lovely white baby doll night dress. The bust was satin trimmed with ice blue lace with beaded leaf shaped straps covered in seed pearls. The two panels were parted in the middle and made of sheer gauzy material. The matching panties were demure and had large satin bows on both sides of the hips to hold up the panties. A wide band with lace inserts in the same icy blue were placed discreetly on the otherwise completely backless garment. A large white bow was the finishing touch; it had to be undone for the nightgown to open.

"Kind of like unwrapping a present!" Sniggered Ginny playfully, "You should get it and this one too." She said showing Hermione a deep burgundy and green garter set, with red suspenders holding up sheer stockings trimmed in green velvet.

"Gryffindor and Slytherin yeah?" she said pointing out the bustier, corset in deep forest green with delicate red and gold filigree embroidery of branches of cherry blossoms that ended right near the breasts. It was sexy and subtle with a matching velvet choker, "You could do your hair up and paint your lips red and KAPOWW!" she giggled making a loud bang with her fists, "He is your slave for life!"

Hermione laughed drunkenly, her cheeks flushed as she thought about surprising Draco dressed like that one day. "It'll be fun to watch his reaction to that." She blushed, "Especially the green underwear…" she said, her mind conjuring up an image of Draco icy eyes and beautifully sculptured abs. And blurted out without thinking, "I wish I had some whipped cream and strawberries…"

"Why?" asked Ginny quizzical.

Hermione blushed madly, as her very excited and drunken brain displayed another image of her licking cream of Draco's tan abs and sucking a deep red strawberry from between his lips, "No reason." She giggled.

"So should we get them? It says immediate service!" said Ginny jumping up and down like a kid.

Hermione hurriedly got out a piece of parchment where they wrote down their choices; Hermione's two sets and Ginny's cat-suit, handcuffs, edible underwear and clamps and sent it off to the given address with Rowena and the money.

…..


	32. Chapter 29: A Day In The Life Of Draco

_**I'd Love Me Some Reviews!**_

_**Raise Me Up**_

Claudia McNeil giggled as Blaise kissed down her neck to the top of her breasts.

"Stop!" she giggled, "Oh! Blaise…" she moaned out, raising her lips to his… kissing him fervently with passion. Blaise returned her kiss while pushing her back onto the bed. His hands unhooking her bra and resting on her hips.

A sudden knock on the door interrupted them and Blaise sighed in frustration.

"Who is it?" he bit out, still holding on to Claudia.

"It is me master!" came a squeaky voice from behind the door, "I is sorry to disturb you!"

"Come in Jinx." He called out.

The tiny little elf trotted into the room, his cheeks burning red when he saw Claudia there. "Master, you is getting a Floo call from Mr. Malfoy. He is saying it is urgent!" said the elf, his wide blue eyes trained on the floor.

"Thank you Jinx, you can go now." Said Blaise smiling as the small elf scurried out, his loose red football shorts flying everywhere.

"Two minutes?" he said to Claudia with an apologetic smile as he walked towards the door.

She just smiled; this was the opportunity she had been looking for!

She hopped down on off the bed and waited to hear the sound of the study door shutting; as soon as it did she went to the large cabinet which Blaise kept at the back of his room, her wand in her hand. Quickly muttering a complex unlocking spell, she was rewarded when after a few seconds the locks clicked open.

The first drawer just had important papers from his other clients, the second financial statements from Malfoy Industries Inc. cursing she hoped to find what she was looking for in the third drawer and she pulled it open and hit the jackpot.

Inside were his notes for the upcoming trial, his witness list, his request for both a Pensive test as well as a Veretaserum test for Mr. Weasley and the Auror who had found Hermione Granger, Claudia looked over all the documents once; committing their content to her brain and hurriedly returned all the papers to the cabinet and relocked it.

She returned to the bed and waited for Blaise, she had been hired by Mr. Weasley for this job; Claudia was a thief and after weeks of careful surveillance while she began to 'date' Zabini she had found out he kept the important papers in his bed room and not in his study. Now she had everything she needed to help Mr. Weasley and get her money.

She hated the red-head, personally he gave her the creeps she thought as she shuddered under the satin covers; but money was money…

* * *

Hermione hummed under her breath as she stood in the kitchen preparing food… the muggle way. They had come back to her apartment; her and Scorpius who just had speech therapy today. Hermione was both scared and excited about that, another thing she was scared about was Ginny coming over today.

Hermione had decided she was going to tell her about Astoria; she had been putting it off for far too long. As she added water to the waffle mixture, Scorpius gave a shriek of delight, flailing his arms from his carrier that Hermione had placed in the kitchen so that she could look at him at all times.

Hermione giggled, "I know sweetie!" and put a wet finger on his nose, which he caught and began to suck on. Today Hermione had experienced bath time first hand and now understood why Draco moaned about it so much.

The second Scorpius was in the bath tub, half the water was splashed out… onto her! Then the next fifteen minutes Hermione had to convince him to stay still while she washed his hair again that was impossible until he had _every single _toy of his in the bath tub! Which were numerous boats, ducks that quacked, toy sailors, rubber fishes and strangely a floating bunny?

Draco had spoiled the little boy rotten… finally when she did get him to stay still and managed to wash his hair and body; he blew all the bubbles from the shampoo and body wash onto to her, Hermione giggled as she remembered how innocently he had looked at her with his big blue eyes after doing that. Eventually she had just climbed into the tub with him… clothes and all.

Dressing him…. Now that was a whole other story. As soon as they were out of the tub Scorpius began to sob like his little heart would break and Hermione had spent the next half an hour placating him. She dried his crinkly blond curls by running a towel through them gently and wiped his body; all though which he wriggled like a little eel and gave her a thoroughly hard time, when it was time to clean his ears he had shrieked at her; enraged by the indignity! And taken of running! She had chased him all around the apartment, thanking god that there were no sharp edges anywhere making her also wonder if Draco had experienced something like this?

After a while the baby just exhausted himself and sat down looking at her innocently as she hefted him into her arms and took him to his room where she powdered and diapered his little bottom and then dressed him in an adorable green and blue shorts set with a matching hat and shoes.

And now the warm aroma of chocolate chip waffles filled her old apartment and made her mouth water, this was her way of releasing stress… cooking. As she removed the warm treat from the waffle maker and set it down on a plate she put some chocolate sauce and cut strawberries and bananas over it.

Walking over to the baby she cut one little piece of and blew on it; lifting it up with her fingers she put it near Scorpius's little pink lips laughing when he licked the chocolate sauce first and then began to eat the warm waffle attentively. She then took a bite herself; feeding him and then eating herself once both she and the baby were full she cleaned up her kitchen and took him back to her living room's couch to change him.

She had to go check on her bookstore, which her assistant Jackson had been looking after ever since she had gone to France.

Jackson was like her…. a domestic violence survivor who had come looking for work after running away from Anthony his partner… a muggle. Jackson was a squib; his parents had loved him so much that they moved to the muggle world so that he didn't feel inadequate.

He had been working for her for over a year now, he was shy and very- very self-conscience and liked to blend into the background. Anthony had beaten all the life out of him and she was sure Scorpius would love him… gentle as he was.

She locked her house and walked down the stairs and into the crowd of shoppers, there was a portal of sorts near her house in Camden that led straight to Diagon Ally as a number of young witches and wizards came and settled here.

It was a Sunday and Diagon Ally was dappled in warm spring sunshine as people walked to and fro doing their shopping for the week. She walked down the street to the sleepy little corner where her shop was tucked away. As always when she entered she felt a sense of calm well-being flood though her body. The warm coffee and citrus scent dominated the air she breathed in, behind the counter a youth of about twenty one stood smiling shyly, his dimples on display.

"Hello Hermione!" greeted Jackson Lovelett in his soft voice, coming forward to hug her.

"Jackson!" she grinned and hugged him back, setting down the baby carrier and bag. Over the course of one year Jackson had become one of her best-friends. He was an outcast… a pariah in society. Gay and a domestic violence survivor. Hermione hated it! She had never met anyone as gentle and kind as the boy who stood opposite her just now, his face was always wreathed in warm yet shy smile that made the customers feel at instant ease and his wide green eyes displayed an innocence that most people would consider lost in this age, it had taken Hermione months to get him to open up and talk once again, a year ago she could never have imagined him smiling… much less hugging her!

Jackson was one of those rare people who were not angry about their lot in life he often said to her that he was just thankful to be alive and she hoped and prayed that he found someone… someone who would treat him the way he deserved to be treated. The way she and Draco had found each other….

"You hugged me! What going on Jackson?!" she teased gently, pulling away from him.

"I… ummm…" he stuttered his cheeks going pink. "I might be dating someone." He whispered out shyly, like a schoolboy sharing his first kiss.

"Oh! That amazing sweetie! I'm so happy for you!" she enthused.

"We met at the animal shelter where I volunteer, he wanted to buy a puppy and after that he just kept coming back every day." He laughed, "His name is Theo Nott and when I finally agreed to go on a date with him, he took me to Paris! We ate at the top of the Eiffel Tower and Hermione I felt… I felt… so special!" he whispered out the last part, "That's silly of me isn't it?" he said with a self-effacing smile.

"Never! Did you tell him about Anthony?" she said holding his hand.

"Not yet, he's coming by to pick me up today… we have a date. I think I'll have to tell him now." He said with a resigned sigh, like he expected them to breakup the second he did tell him. Hermione just squeezed his hand reassuringly and picked up Scorpius's basket and gestured that Jackson come forward.

"Jackson meet Scorpius, Draco's son. I am putting you on babysitting duty for an hour while I do some work." She said, unclipping the baby's seat belt and picking him up from his carrier and setting him down on the wooden floor. Scorpius's looked at the brown-haired youth curiously and toddled forward and just as the sun hit Jackson's hair the baby giggled happily and toddled forward and caught hold of his hair, tugging it happily. Jackson winced but grinned and picked up the child and his numerous toys, "I'll take him to the back room where we can play… something." He said grimacing in pain as Scorpius's tugged harder.

An hour later, Hermione's account books were tallied and her balance sheets made when she went in search of Scorpius's and Jackson, they were still in the back room and they were reading Jack and Beanstalk which Jackson was animating; copying the booming voice of the ogre and the using his own gentle voice for Jack. The baby was looking at him rapt; Hermione didn't know how much he understood but she would definitely find out.

In the next few weeks Scorpius's had a visit to the pediatrician and Hermione wanted to ask him a few questions about Scorpius's growth and brain development. She was worried; Scorpius's was two or almost two his birthday was in a month and by this time most children… normal children were talking and even with his extensive speech therapy the baby was not making any progress into phonetics. Hermione knew that maybe with a bit of research with the help of magic they might be able to alter Scorpius's genetics' so that he can get better accustomed to his lack of the fifth chromosome, which was why he had Angelman's.

Going over this with Draco seemed like a good idea after all Draco was not always going to be around to look after Scorpius, that was impossible … they were going to have to come up with a way for Scorpius to survive In the real world without help and magic seemed to be the only solution.

Draco was not going to consent to having his son put into a special home when he died, especially when Scorpius has no control on his magic and the wizerding world doesn't have any place that can house people with such mental illnesses… putting it at the back of her mind as a topic she needed to discuss with Draco she swept into the room.

"We have to go now." She said taking the child into her arms, "Thanks so much for babysitting Jackson!" she smiled as walked out of the room. Just as she was packing Scorpius's carrier, the bell above her shop door rang and she looked up to see the tall dark haired Theo Nott walk into her store. Hermione grinned at him and pointed towards the back with her thumb, Theodore gave her a wide smile, his dark chocolate colored eyes lighting up and his cheeks warming with bright red blush.

Feeling light and happy she walked out of her bookshop with Scorpius in her arms, spring had brought all sorts of colors into flowers, making the air sweet with their perfume, the warm sun and the sweet, fresh smell made her miss Draco even more.

The baby laid his small head on her shoulder; she had shrunk his carrier and was carrying him in her arms. His warm plump arms around her neck and his small hands were resting in her curls, his downy sweet smelling head was snuggled up into her throat trustingly and her hands absently massaged his small feet as she hugged him closer.

Again the thought that she or Draco or Harry or Ginny or Blaise might not be here tomorrow to look after him or to look out for him jumped into her mind caused a strange tightening in her heart. She felt fear… fear that he might not be able to survive himself, that he might…. No! She couldn't bear to even think it. She would see to it that Scorpius had the means to survive without them; this was just another way for him to be safe. With them or without them…

…

The baby was not happy that was for sure, back in Draco's apartment Hermione was trying to calm him down. Speech therapy was frustrating for him, a child with a short attention span like Scorpius had trouble sitting down and listening or learning something in a forced teaching atmosphere. As they were leaving; his therapist had stopped Hermione and told her that she needed to practice with the child at home if she wanted to see improvement.

So now she was sitting with him trying him to get him to say simple things like the therapist did… am, an, or, mama, papa, cat, dog. He was reluctant and he was now getting frustrated, so she relented and put down the book. Scorpius took out his anger the best way he could be began to cry; the toll of the day getting to him.

Hermione got up and picked him up, swaying gently and tenderly hushing him to calm him down, loud hiccupping sobs and little shrieks of anger made their way out of this throat and his eyes and nose were flowing continually wetting the front of her blouse as he cuddled up to her. She had no idea how to handle this, other than hugging him and hoping that everything became okay.

Hermione kissed his head and carried him to the kitchen and got out his sippy cup filled with juice. Returning to the couch, she laid him down on her lap, rocking him gently and handed him the bottle.

Scorpius pushed it away angrily and jumped down from her lap. Hermione sensed the oncoming storm and reached for him again, the baby just pushed her away and began to back away screaming hysterically, all the toys in his way were stamped upon and ripped when he got his hands on them, chucking them here and there. He was biting his fist, his blue eyes enraged and filled with tears. Hermione spied the glass coffee table just a few feet away from him and knew exactly why he was running in the direction. His magic was going out of control, all the ripped and torn toys began to fly in and the she heard the loud splintering of glass in the kitchen. As his furious sobs rose in octaves so did his uncontrollable magic.

Now Hermione was scared!

She picked up her wand and cast a quick levitation spell on him, the baby cried and cried as he was lifted off the ground before he reached his destination, kicking and flailing his body in the air!

Hermione heart broke each time he sobbed louder and struggled but she could do nothing, plucking his wriggling body from mid-air she dashed out of the living room and into the closest bathroom, casting a charm to open up the faucet and guiding the flowing water into the bath tub! Scorpius continued to struggle angrily until he spotted the water, his struggles ceased in her arms and his tears slowed to loud gasping hiccup's….

Hermione let him down and allowed him to toddle to the edge of the bath tub where he stuck his hand into the water and splashed it around. His wide blue eyes rapt with fascination, he stuck his small fist under the running tap and then pulled it out and then kept repeating the process. Hermione sat down heavily on the ground and ran a tired hand over her forehead, her eyes keeping careful watch on the child.

In about fifteen minutes like she expected Scorpius's yawned, Hermione walked to where he was standing and tentatively picked him up and was met with almost no resistance. Shutting of the water she carried him straight to his room and summoned the sippy cup of juice, sitting down on the old ash rocking chair she placed the cup in his hands, midway though, his eyes drooped… exhausted by the tantrum he just threw. Hermione took the cup out of his hands and kissed his forehead continuing to rock, wiping a few wayward tears from his puffy cheeks and picking him up and getting rid of his dirty clothes. Hermione dressed the almost asleep baby in his pajamas and set him down into his crib, switching on his music box she walked out of the room just as the doorbell rang.

Hermione hurried out, it was now time to tell Ginny the truth…..


	33. Chapter 30: The Date

_**Raise Me Up**_

"Draco!" Hermione said confused as she opened the door. "What are you doing here? You're supposed to be in China?" she said, her eyes going wide as she took in Draco standing at the threshold of the apartment smirking.

Hermione had to struggle to catch her breath, he looked … amazing, dressed in a dark gray silk suit with an open necked midnight blue shirt, his hair falling in shaggy bangs over his forehead and his mercurial, passionate eyes regarding her with slumberous heat.

Draco reached out and pressed his finger under Hermione chin, shutting her gaping mouth and husked out, "Shut that gorgeous mouth sweetheart and get dressed, we're going on a date…"

"A..a..a date?" Hermione said feeling dazed by his closeness.

"A date," he confirmed with another heart stoppingly wicked grin, "I realized in China that we never really had a real date so the moment the deal was struck I came back to take you away, now go… my mother is coming to babysit."

"But a dress?!" she stuttered out, her cheeks going pink in pleasure.

Draco leaned down and whispered into her ear, "Check the closet in my bedroom." And gave her a little pat on her bottom.

Hermione still in shock went into Draco's bedroom grinning like a fool, her cheeks flaming and her heart throbbing in her chest like a mad thing.

Inside the cupboard was fine Chantilly lace and golden silk dress, it was so smooth that it slipped through her fingers like water, its floor length hem swept out in a train and a wide slit gave a teasing peek-a-boo of her leg, the thin straps were barely strong enough to hold the dress to her body and the front dipped down to just below her breasts as the back barred her creamy skin to perfection.

Hermione knew she couldn't wear this dress with a bra, so self-consciously she slipped it over her head and soothed it down over her hips, it fit like perfection! The golden hue making her warm eyes, humid and sultry, it hugged and flattered her sweet curves and gave her warm skin a radiance that Hermione could feel against her skin.

She felt glorious…. She felt like magic …. And it had more to do with Draco than the dress, Draco made her feel beautiful, enchanting, bewitching … he made her feel special.

Casting a few well-chosen charms on her wild curls, she swept them up in a top knot leaving a few curls to trail down her neck and the sides of her face to frame its heart shaped perfection. Whoever had delivered the dress had not forgotten make-up or the shoes.

Hermione swept bold red lipstick over her full lips, feeling brave and highlighted her brown eyes with some golden shadow; keeping her make-up simple and minimal. Twirling once infront of the mirror, feeling like a princess she regarded her handy-work.

The dress flowed down in smooth symmetrical lines, hinting at her curves in places and boldly highlighting them in some. The low neckline plunged dramatically but the strategically placed ruffles prevented it from looking suggestive. The dainty satin shoes were in the classic 'princess' style a small silver bow adorned the tip of the heel and silvery bows dotted the vamp too. All in all Hermione was happy.

She looked …. For the lack of a better word… she looked like a princess.

Happily twirling out of the room, she could not control the happy grin on her face.

Draco stood just as she had left him, leaning against the doorway his hands in his pockets. But as soon as he saw her, he's eyes did a double take. Dropping down to her body as he took in the perfection of what he saw.

"You look…" he said, speechless… "I have no words to describe how you look to me right now _ma bien-aimée _you look like an angel." He said his eyes blazing with emotion.

"One kiss." He implored hoarsely, "Before we leave and I have to share you with the eyes of other men… one kiss so that I know that though they may look they can never sample your sweetness the way I do!" he said passionately and dragged her towards him, his lips caressed hers gently and she opened up to him in exquisite surrender feeling wild longing and sweet- sweet desire flood her helpless veins with their drugging presence. Draco's kiss increased in intensity and soon he was ravishing her mouth like a man who hungered.

Hermione felt no fear, just wild longing, and her womb clenched as she drove her petit fingers though his lush locks in an attempt to pull him closer. The air around them crackled with intense currents and their skin became sensitive and receptive, as if they could sense each other touch before it came. Draco kissed down her neck, feeling her pulse go mad under his fingers, seeing it throb through her translucent, delicate skin.

"We have to stop sweetheart…" he murmured reluctantly, pulling away from her but keeping her in his arms.

"You ruined my lipstick…" she said dazed in the heat of desire. Her breasts felt incredibly tight and painfully aroused under her dress and her hands shook as she reached out to wipe the remnants of the color from her lips.

"Your lips look better unadorned." He said huskily, leading her out of the house, "My mother is already with Scorpius." He assured her when he saw her glance back into the house worried. Taking her hand he guided her down the stairs and to the closest apparition point.

"Where are we going?" she asked curiously, feeling safe and warm tucked into Draco hard muscular body.

"It's a surprise." He winked, flashing her one of his enigmatic smiles. "Close your eyes sweetheart…" he whispered into her ear and Hermione felt the tug of apparition behind her navel pulling her away from their current location.

As they arrived where ever Draco was taking them Hermione felt a cool breeze brush over her body and she could hear the loud exited chatter of people, the scent of warm, sensual flowers filled the night's air and Hermione could take it no longer, she opened her eyes and looked around….

She was standing on the Bridge of Sighs in Venice. Around her the water of the Grand Canal reflected the numerous people walking to and for chattering in melodious Italian. Hermione felt her heart soar in excitement; they were just in time to witness the sunset over the bluish green waters.

The colossal sun burned its last embers orange and amber; the waters captured the colors like no photograph could merging and melding them together within its own dark depts. The fiery furnace bathed everything in deep hues of orange and light tones of pink, making Venice look like Turkish delight. Everyone stopped to look up toward it the great sun, it was like prayer.

The faint mists of darkness began to creep around the clouds steeling away the some of the glory as the sun finally sank into its heavenly abode. Azures faded into purples and indigos and pinks faded to violet.

Dusty stars brushed off their coats and gleamed bright and eventually she rose into the sky, making the stark black canvas glow with her radiance. The full moon's light shone over the old bobbing Gondolas and brushed the old stone walk ways; like she was giving them her blessing. Somewhere around the corner, Hermione heard the lone sound of a single saxophone through all the hum drum of the tourists and locals and her heart took flight among the starts. This was where she belonged, in Draco's arms…

"Come…" said Draco, guiding her away from the enchanting scene before her eyes and leading her towards one of the more secluded Palazzos. As they walked hand and hand, men stopped and stared at her and women at Draco. But they only had eyes for each other; each accidental touch was as intimate and secret to them as each deliberate one was. Draco's eyes reflected possessiveness, as they kept tracing her delicate features.

"I never noticed you had dimples before." He said huskily, grinning and running a finger over her soft cheek, "They are very cute."

Hermione blushed and stopped short when she caught sight of where Draco had stopped them, it was an open patio that sat directly over the waters of the Grand Canal, blue and green lights decorated the entire structure, lights which she later learned were pixies. The sweet scent of Nights Queen met her nostrils as she inhaled greedily, he had clearly put a lot of thought into this, Nights Queen was her favorite flower and it was found only in India.

Hermione heart welled with feeling and he led her to the small table set up with a basket overflowing with the flower. "These won't ever die or lose their fragrance." Said Draco, "I had them bewitched specially for you, some of my Charms Department analysts are developing the spell." He explained.

Pushing her gently into her seat he proceeded to uncork a bottle of champagne with flourish, as if Hermione needed more intoxication, she thought giddily, her cheeks were beginning to hurt with all this smiling.

"To us, may we survive and conquer our demons." He toasted softly clinking his glass against hers.

"To us." She repeated, hastily sipping from her glass in an effort to calm her racing heart.

From behind her a waiter appeared and brought forward two plates of the aperitif, _Black Mission Fig and P__rosciutto__ Crosata _on crusty bread served with a light dry white wine, _Grüner Veltliner_with peachy and peppery undertones.

Hermione and Draco's conversation was as delicious as the tongue teasing cuisine, they went from their favorite muggle authors, (Hemmingway and Chekov for Draco and Dickens, Shakespeare and Virginia Wofle for Hermione) to their favorite music, debating the style of Chopin's piano nocturnes to the soothing yet highly disturbing tunes of Beethoven.

The entrée was brought out next**, **_flat Italian green beans toasted lightly with crumbs and soft blue cheese_; the beans were crisp with their bite still intact, andante as the Italian said. With it came a fruity red, _Claret from Chateau Boviar_ a fine, well-aged 1996, Hermione kept her drinking to a bare minimum. Taking just minute sips to wet her throat.

The topics leaped forth unrestrained, their favored Opera's (The Tale of Lucia for Hermione and This Wild Village by Pavlov for Draco) to ballet, literature, culture. Draco was the perfect dinner partner, his knowledge on many matters was extensive and his obvious interest in her thoughts and her opinions made her feel as if she was talking to a person who shared her intellectual capabilities which was so unlike when she used to talk to Ron who just made her feel like a dowdy, over-smart know-it-all.

Pan seared butter scallop's and cherry tomatoes and greens made up their main course and at last the bliss inducing Tiramisu which had been soaked in Brandy overnight to give it its smoky taste.

As they sat drinking coffee and Draco enjoyed a rare cheroot, Hermione felt at peace. Her senses were numbed by a haze of clove scented smoke and the smell of fine freshly brewed coffee. "Oh Draco thank you!" she said happily, "I had the most amazing time! I have never ever been treated like this before!" she said happily, reaching out to hold his calloused hand. Draco just grinned at her lazily, "It's not over yet sweet..." he smirked, getting up he stubbed out his cheroot and took her hand.

Hermione curled into his body and again felt the belly clenching excitement as they apparated away.

When she opened her eyes they were outside a small club, where she had no idea.

Draco led her inside with a wicked smile, the sultry beat of Havana music and the voice of a Cajun singer who crooned in Spanish made her realize they were in Cuba. Draco grinned at her and tugged her onto the dance floor, holding her body close to his as he swayed to the sensual beat of the Samba. His hips melded into hers and his long legs guided her body to give in to the music, Hermione let go.

She pressed her chest into his, her softness melting into his hardness. Hermione clasped his firm hands as he twirled her, tipping her back and lifting her leg to go around his hips. Her gown fell open displaying her leg and her white throat was exposed as he tipped her back, kissing her gently.

It was like they were the only two people in the room. Moving her so that his chest was to her back he slid his hands around her waist, his hand caressing her thigh and his other hand cupping her breast. Hermione was so intoxicated by his nearness she forgot everything but the music and his hands on her.

The music soon changed in rhythm the soft tunes became faster, their legs and arms tangled in a mix of sweat and ecstasy as they breathed each other in heavily. The woman's husky voice sang on as they danced and danced and danced… their breath coming out in gasps and their bodies moving in sync.

They danced till dawn…


	34. Chapter 31: The Morning After

On Account of Id I would like to wish all my Muslim readers a happy and prosperous holiday, I hope your lives are filled with light and laughter and as an Id gift I wrote out this chapter for ya'll. And to the rest of you, let's be happy and celebrate the festival on account of World Peace, :D so

_**Id Mubarak Tum Sab Ko Tum Hare Zindagi Meh Kushi Rahe! **_

_**Raise Me Up **_

"You own the island?" whispered Hermione dreamily, her head cradled on Draco's chest.

"Yeah…" he said softly pulling the blanket over her as they lay on the soft sand and listened to the sound of the massive wave's crash against the rocky coastline, the sky was still dark and the stars shone large in the clean, unpolluted air.

"That is Aquila," he pointed out, "The Eagle Constellation…"

"Of which the brightest star is Altair." She finished sleepily, "Humm… Draco keep talking, I love hearing your voice…." She mumbled out snuggling further into his warmth.

"Towards the Western Horizon is Columba; the dove and to her right Corona Borealis, the northern crown and to the Eastern Horizon is Corona Australis the southern crown and right next to it is Draconis with the brightest star Etamin." He said softly pulling her closer as he looked up, soon dawn would be breaking and they would have to return to their real life and this magical night would just be a memory to be savored when things got bitter as he knew they were bound to get.

He hadn't told her yet but yesterday when she was changing he had found the letter from Ron's lawyer in a pile of his mail, he didn't know how she would react to the news. She could very well suffer another break down and all he wanted to do was protect her from that, he would deal with that later. It was the weekend; all he wanted to do was spend some time with Hermione and his son without being interrupted.

The inky sky began to turn a light shade of mauve, the pink and lavender clouds began to float in, covering the beautiful stars; fiery orange wisps followed; painting the sky the color of famous Monet painting Impressions. Delicate hues mixing with bold shades to give a perfect setting for the flaming sun to rise into. Draco watched in rapt wonder, marveling at nature's magnificent display of beauty.

His eyes then travelled from the scene in front of him to down in his lap where Hermione slept, she looked ethereal, the bronze morning light turned her milky skin into a silky golden that matched the dress perfectly, and her bare feet were tucked into the sand, her small toes with their red nails peeking out teasingly. Her plump lips were pouted out in sleep and her large eyes were covered in fluttering moth wing soft lids that fluttered ever so lightly…. To him she was beyond beautiful and no women had aroused him like this before.

One look of her innocent eyes made him hard, a single brush of her hand along his skin sent him into a frenzy, one smile made him crazy….. Draco had not been a chaste monk since he had separated from Astoria, he had sex; yet till now he hadn't felt arousal like this… ever. But he would never do anything or ask anything of her till she was ready herself. She had been though a massive trauma and she had enough trouble in her life without him pressuring her into doing something that she didn't feel comfortable doing right now.

Getting up carefully, so that he didn't wake Hermione he lifted her into his arms. Carrying her back across the beach ….

* * *

Hermione woke later from the most wonderful dream… she had dreamt the Draco had returned from China and taken her dancing and to Italy. She stretched delicately, her eyes travelling down the length of her body just to realize that what she had experienced was not a dream but infact all real. She was still in her golden gown, only on Draco's bed. And the scent of warm pancakes wafted into the room tantalizingly.

Still deliriously happy she floated to her suitcase and pulled out a pair of old, worn velvet lounging pants and a lacy camisole and slipped into the shower. The warm water washed away all traces of her make- up leaving her plain again. She stepped out and wiped the fogged mirror and looked at her bare face and felt…. Beautiful.

For the first time in years she didn't have either the haunted look in her eyes or bruises that covered her entire body. She felt happy and she felt pretty, her eyes shone with the light of new discovery and her lips were turned up in a perpetual smile. All these years… every time she looked in the mirror she felt ugly… she had wanted to smash the mirror into pieces every time she had looked into it, after all you cannot hide from yourself… she could lie to Harry, Ginny, all her friends but she could never hide the truth from herself.

Hermione ran a brush through her hair, leaving it to fall in gentle curls down her back to her hips and rubbed some balm into her lips. Bare faced and dressed in old and comfortable clothes she felt cocooned in warmth and she walked out of the bed room and into the hallway that led to the kitchen.

Inside stood Draco, dressed in old blue jeans, faded from years of use to a soft blue and a shirt with its sleeves rolled up as he deftly flipped a buttermilk pancake, his shaggy blond hair fell in gentle waves down to his shoulders and his icy eyes were focused intently on his work. Scorpius sat in a baby chair to his left gurgling happily. Hermione just stood still for a bit, savoring the scene with delight.

It was perfect…

The baby gave a happy squeal when he saw her enter, his anger from last night forgotten. Hermione went to him and picked him up, hugging him close and kissing his sweet smelling head. Draco turned around grinning at her and walked up close and slipped his arm around her waist, "Good Morning sweetheart, me and Scorp were worried you were going to sleep the morning away." He said huskily.

"Not a chance; it'll be a cold day in hell when I give up the chance to see the 'Great Pureblood Malfoy' cooking like a common muggle." She teased bumping her hip against his.

Draco just grinned at her devilishly and slid the plate forward, "Eat." He commanded, "We have to plan Scorpius's second birthday party you know!" he laughed excitedly.

….


	35. Chapter 32: Facing the News

**A/N:** _Those of you who want the next chapter up quick - Review! And you get a preview PM'd to you! Just saying… :D_

_**Raise Me Up**_

Blaise knocked in Draco's apartment door, his expression grim and foreboding, in his hand was the court order from Judge Moss, they had lucked out here. Judge Moss was one of the most corrupt judges working for the MM.

The Arraignment hearing was set to be displayed to her in the next four days and he was pretty sure that Ron would make bail; they didn't have enough to keep him. Andrea had sent him an affidavit stating that they could not use memories, signed by Judge Moss. The reason; memories could be tampered.

Blaise was preparing to launch another affidavit sanctioning the use to Veritaserum during the trail. If they did manage to get that in use, both the Auror and Hermione would be able to testify.

He was pulled from is thoughts when a grinning Draco opened the door, taking one look at Blaise's grim face, his own smile fell. Draco knew it was time. These past few days they had been fooling around and now it was time to get back to reality, Draco held the door open and let Blaise in.

Hermione was sitting on the floor playing with Scorpius when Blaise walked in, one look at his face sent Hermione to her feet.

"Is it bad news?" she breathed out fearfully.

"Not bad news exactly, but not very good news either." Blaise said hesitantly. "We go to court in four days to see if Ron can be held, we don't have enough evidence to hold him till trial, so he might make bail…"

"If he makes bail Blaise he is going to come after me!" Hermione said, beginning to shake in earnest. "You have to stop him!"

"I can't do much; the Pensive memories are out of question. There is an affidavit from his lawyer signed by the judge to keep them out of court. It just might be that Wizgamot will acquit him, we need more. Hermione you will have to testify!"

"You mean she is going to have to get up there! In front of those wolves." Draco snarled, "Hasn't she faced enough already, without having to subject her to looking at Ron motherfucking Weasley's face smirking at her from the across the room!" he said angrily, pushing Hermione behind him.

"Draco stop it! I am not the enemy, hell I don't want to put her in the chair any more than you do… do you think we have a choice! That bloody lawyer of his has sealed off all of our possibilities, our CASE IS SLOPPY!" Blaise yelled at his friend, "I am spending all hours of my day trying to come up with a strategy to beat Ron and his bloody bitch of lawyer yet each time I come up with a plan, Poof! Like bloody divine magic she knows what it is and shuts it down!" He said throwing his hands up in despair.

"Wait… What? How does she know what you are doing?!" Draco said quizzical.

"The fuck do I know…" Blaise said loosening his blood red silk tie and opening up the jacket of his gray suit, "I need a drink Draco man, is the Fire Whiskey still in the study?" he said tiredly.

"Yeah." Draco said distracted, looking at Hermione who had almost collapsed onto the couch, her knees weak and shaking.

He walked up to her slid his arm around her hips, "We'll get through his sweetheart, don't… don't let this get to you."

Hermione tucked her head into Draco strong chest, her breathing heavy. "What am I going to do Draco!?" she sobbed, "I am tried, I want to forget! I want this over…. If I do testify what guarantee is it that Ron will be convicted, what if he does go free? I cannot go through what I went through in those caves again."

"Hermione… Please…"

She pulled away from him almost violently, shaking in a mixture of rage, frustration and fear.

"I wanted to kill myself Draco…" she said, her voice so low that he almost couldn't hear.

"Hermione no… stop." He said moving towards her.

"I wanted to kill myself!" She shrieked out, "Do you know what that's like? To feel so filthy and disgusting that you want to take a knife and plunge it into your own heart! DO YOU?!"

Draco wanted to reach for her but her expression stopped him, her eyes were wild with fear, almost rabid and a dark flush of agony highlighted her face.

"Don't!" she whispered, "Just don't come any closer… I need some time to think." She said grabbing her coat and running out of the door.

Draco didn't know what to do, behind him he heard the distinct cry of his son and bent to pick up Scorpius to comfort him, "Don't worry buddy she'll be back." he said cradling him close and kissing the top of Scorpius's head. Though Draco wasn't sure he believed that himself.

….

Hermione didn't know where she was going, but she just kept walking. The ominous rumble of thunder didn't deter her in the least; thoughts flew through her mind at the speed of light. What was she going to do if Ron was freed? How was she going to protect herself? How was she going to protect the people closest to her?

She stopped for a second, she was right outside her shop and through the window she could make out Jacksons light hair behind the counter and for the first time in a long time she saw a smile illuminating the youths face. His boyfriend stood in front of him and Jackson leaned forward shyly and pressed his lips to Theo's. It was so sweet and innocent and pure, it made her heartstrings tug painfully. She wished she and Draco could have this much peace in their lives.

But right now everything was out of control and Hermione felt herself being tugged into this vortex of chaos that she had no hold over and she was getting overwhelmed.

She deserved peace and a chance to have real love…. She deserved a chance.

Making up her mind, Hermione apparated out of Diagon Ally, she was going to see Astoria. Astoria would help their case a lot and she owed Hermione, usually Hermione wasn't one to collect for favors but this was her life and her family. Over time Scorpius had become her child, her baby and Hermione knew that Astoria would not want her son to be without a mother and Hermione would do anything to protect Scorpius and Draco from being subjected to Ronald Weasley… anything….

She walked up the road to the clinic and signed her name into the roster; the receptionist told her that Astoria was in room number 12.

Hermione knocked on her room door and pushed it open; the small room was meticulously kept. A stack of books besides the bed, light green walls. Exactly how she remembered it, and on the bed sat Astoria.

"Hi Hermione!" She smiled pleasantly surprised, "I was expecting you later this week."

"I can't stay Tori; I need you to do something for me."

"Anything..." assured Astoria.

"Don't be so sure about it, after I ask you what it is you might not agree." Hermione said to her bluntly.

"Hermione there is nothing I won't do for you! You helped me turn myself around, you saved me from killing myself with drugs. You believed in me when I had not faith in myself. You showed me that the sun always rises after even the darkest of days. What is it?" Astoria said standing up and reaching for her friend's hand.

"I need you to meet with Draco and help us in our trial; we need you to testify….."

….


	36. Chapter 33: Magic

_**Mood Music For This Chapter is : Kenny G**_

_**Sorry for the short chapter but this was all I had time to upload! Please review ! **_

_**All the Indians! HAPPY INDEPENDACE DAY! **_

_**Raise Me Up**_

Hermione let herself into the house, wincing when she saw Blaise sitting on the table glaring at her.

"Where the hell were you!? Bollocks woman Draco has been worried sick!" He whisper yelled.

"I'm back now, where is he?" she whispered back.

"Up on the terrace, look I have to go I have a date with Claudia. Keep in touch darling." He said giving her hand a squeeze "And cut Draco some slack, he's just protective, he doesn't want anything bad to happen to you…"

Hermione nodded giving Blaise a weak smile. She held the door open for him and watched him disappear out of sight.

Bracing herself for a major fight she began to climb the stairs as she pushed the door open she was greeted by thousands and thousands of small floating candles, Draco stood with his back to her looking over London, Scorpius cuddled in his arms.

Hermione looked about her in awe, "You did this for me?" she whispered.

Draco turned and smiled at her tenderly, "Always…" he vowed in a fervent voice.

Hermione just took a step towards him feeling her heart pumping in her chest, Draco took a step towards her and before they knew it they were in each other's arms embracing to the sound of soft saxophone music; the same artist they had heard in Venice, their first date…

"I'm sorry, I was so stupid, snapping like that!" she said stroking her hand over his handsome face.

"It doesn't matter." He said gently, "Would you do me a favor?" he said handing Scorpius to her.

When Hermione looked up from adjusting Scorpius's slight weight in her arms…. Draco was on his knees.

Hermione gasped, tears flooding her eyes.

"My beloved Hermione, today I stand here about to ask you to share your life with me. You have become to me what the sun is to the sky and what the trees are to the earth. My love… my lifeline… someone to share my hopes and dreams and ambitions, a mother to my son and I want to be the one who holds your hand when you cry, I want to be the one to wipe your tears, comfort you when you are hurt and see the sunshine shining out of your eyes when you are happy. Let me be your guardian, your white knight, your lover, your friend, you confidant, your equal? I love you beyond all comprehension. So what do you say?" he finished looking up at her with an endearing smile, the full power of his artic eyes catching her like a punch right in the solar plexus.

"Yes…" she sobbed out incoherently, "Yes! Yes! Yes! A thousand times yes!"

Draco got up and tenderly kissed her, sealing the deal… out of his pocket he pulled out a satiny jeweler's box and opened it.

Between folds of satin lay nestled the most beautiful ring. Platinum and rubies interlocked around a small star shaped diamond that glittered almost with inner light when Draco slid it onto Hermione's shaking hand.

"Silver and red… Gryffindor and Slytherin… fire and ice… harmony and chaos … peace and war… ecstasy and pain. This ring symbolizes all that, darling. I will be there for you through it all, I will be there for you if the sun snuffs out and the stars go black. I will be there when the darkness threatens to consume us, just as I will be there when the light surrounds us…"

Hermione curled into his arms, Scorpius between them as she reached up and kissed him… gently like the flow of molten lava down a mountain their lips met and held in a dance as old as time.

"I love you Draco…" she whispered into his ear.

"As I love you, me and Scorpius will be with you throughout this trail and for the rest of our lives." He whispered back his hand resting on her hips.

"When do you want to get married?" he asked.

"Tomorrow?" she grinned impishly.

"Tomorrow!? Darling I would marry you this moment if I could but you get one wedding to do it right don't you want something a bit more fancy with everyone you love there?"

"I couldn't care less for a big wedding, all I want is you, me and Scorpius and it would be perfect. I don't need flowers and a big show to get married, I love you and you love me it's enough. Besides we could get married tomorrow and then throw an engagement party later. But us getting married… I want it to be only about us." She smiled at him mischievously flashing her dimples.

Draco led her down back to the apartment, Hermione's legs still shook and the grin couldn't come off her face. She was engaged!

"You brought Scorpius along with you because you knew I wouldn't say no when he was there right!?" she accused mockingly.

"A guy's got to do what a guy's got to do. Sorry sweetheart I wasn't taking any chances and nor am I above using dirty tricks." He grinned boyishly while shrugging.

Hermione giggled and trailed a finger over his chest, "Too bad we couldn't get married today. Now you'll have to wait till tomorrow for your present."

Draco's eyes went wide with shock as he registered what she said.

….


	37. Chapter 34: Future Mother-In-Law

_**Raise Me Up**_

Hermione packed up a bag, stealthily pushing in the white negligée that she and Ginny had ordered while they were drunk. Draco had told his mother about their plans and she had promptly declared that the bride-to-be couldn't possible spend the night in the same house as the groom for it was bad luck and so Narcissa had come to pick Hermione up.

She walked out to where Draco and his mother were conversing in the living room, smiled at Narcissa she asked her to excuse Hermione and Draco for just a bit. As soon as his mother was out of hearing range, Draco looked anxiously into Hermione's eyes.

"So we're doing this? We are really doing this?" he said holding her dainty hands in his own large, warm ones.

"We are!" she said with conviction.

"Because if you do have reservations or doubts we can wait, just say something now. Because I don't think I could live with it if you got cold feet tomorrow and ditched me."

"Are _you_ sure? I mean clearly I am not exactly in perfect condition Draco; it's going to take me time … to.. to.. be intimate with you. You understand all that right?"

"I do." He replied.

"Well then know this so do I, I won't get cold feet and I would never –never abandon you or leave without telling you. We are doing this, remember just you and me no one else to please, just you and just me together."

"Together…" he repeated looking into her eyes.

Hermione reached up and kissed him gently and then picking up her bag she walked to where Narcissa was waiting for her near the fireplace.

….

Narcissa let Hermione into the Mansion, Hermione had bad memories of this place yet the inside was transformed, changed beyond her recognition. All the dark tapestries and paintings had been taken down along with most the heavy light suppressing fabrics. In place of the dark velvet curtains hung translucent gossamer, flowy and light it danced to the night's breeze. The rest of the house was warm with light coming from tastefully placed vintage lamps.

"You have done up your home beautifully Mrs. Malfoy." Hermione said feeling at ease.

"Narcissa please Hermione, come we have much to discuss." She said leading her into the kitchen.

The warm scent of muffins wafted towards Hermione appreciative nose, it was dream of a kitchen …large and warm, smelling of cinnamon and brown sugar mixed with bites of honey and cloves. The roughhewn table at the center of it was far more inviting than the rather imposing table set out for formal functions that resided in the main room. Right at the center of the table was a clear glass bowl filled with floating carnations.

"This big house is so lonely if you don't have someone to share it with." Said Narcissa sadly, "So I take refuge here, it's one of my favorite rooms in the house. In the mornings you must see it, it has sunshine streaming through it from all corners and you can fair smell the bread baking all the way over from the village baker's house. I used to spend hour upon hour in the room when I was a young bride, I would look out and dream that one day I would actually be able to marry someone I loved. Believe me I adore my Draco but his father… I was scared of Lucius for most of my marriage. That man had a temper… and woes betide the man or woman who arouses it." She said whilst removing the hot muffins from the old-fashioned cavernous oven.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that…" Hermione said sympathetically.

"It was a long time ago." She snorted, "We should talk about something else, not my childish dreams of prince charming."

"Oh but you mustn't give up now Narcissa! I found mine, I'm sure you can find him too." Hermione protested.

"You're sweet darling, but I'm just an old woman now." She said patting Hermione cheek and Hermione dropped it…. For now…

Hermione smiled as the scent of butter-nut and banana muffins, they took her back to the times she spent summers with her Nana in Devon, "Those smell divine Narcissa!"

"Thank you darling, Choco-chip, butter-nut and banana muffins, I have been baking them for as long as I can remember. There is just something special about cooking the muggle way isn't there? That can never quite be achieved by just flicking a wand or saying an incantation. Something almost sensual and seductive…" she grinned putting the cooling muffins into a basket and pushing it towards Hermione. "Have a bite…" she urged mischievously, her blue eyes glittering with wicked amusement.

"Oh what the hell, I'm going to get fat when I'm married anyway." Hermione muttered under her breath, giggling as she and Narcissa burned their finger breaking apart the soft doughy treat.

It was absolutely divine… Hermione moaned softly as a delicious piece of the fluffy muffin melted into her tongue and exploded on her taste buds. For a few minutes the two women were silent, just enjoying the tantalizing, wickedly sinful taste of the desert.

"Are you sure you want to marry Draco, Hermione?" asked Narcissa as she wiped her sticky fingers on a napkin.

"I know you're concerned Narcissa but…"

"Don't get me wrong, I don't doubt the strength of your love for him or for Scorpius but spare his old mum for wanting to protect him. And you sweetie, I like you …. So much, you are an excellent mother to Scorpius and a joy to have in the family but what about what you went through with that Weasley boy… I'm truly sorry for asking but will you be able to manage being intimate?"

Hermione felt a warm glow, this was not an overprotective mother who was attacking her wands blazing, no… it was clear that Narcissa was as concerned about Hermione's welfare as she was of Draco and Scorpius's.

"I love him…" Hermione replied simply, "And what is to happen will happen and I think we are strong enough to handle whatever is thrown towards us and if we ever do break apart then rest assured Narcissa I will never and I mean never abandon my little boy."

Narcissa nodded satisfied and got up, "Well then, there is only one more thing left to do. Follow me…" she grinned.

Hermione followed her future mother- in- law up the steps and into a room that was barred with a massive old iron lock.

"This is the Malfoy's traditional 'wedding' room, when I was to marry Lucius my mother-in-law brought me here. Though trust me I didn't have half as much fun as you are going too. Cecile was a nightmare on the best of days…" she shuddered delicately as she walked in.

It was like Hermione had been transported back a century, when they entered the entire room lit up with small tree fairies who had been let in when the room was being cleaned earlier in the day.

Full length mirrors adored the rooms high walls and yet gentle sweeping arches made it seem small… cozy, intimate. Swaths of light fabrics trailed down to the floors… from the lightest egg shell to the palest of pinks and the lightest cerulean's.

The softest of silks that begged to be touched, caressed, the smoothest satins that rippled like water between Hermione's clumsy fingers. All she could do was gape in awe; this had to be one of the most beautiful rooms Hermione had ever seen. Racks and racks were filled with shoes, all kinds of shoes.

But they were here for something else….

"Come Hermione…" Narcissa whispered leading her further into the room. "This is what I wanted to show you…"

Incased in glass was the most beautiful wedding gown Hermione had ever seen, virgin white. It glittered iridescent, as if thousands and thousands of small jewels were sown into the bell of the skirt, long sleeves swept down to curl into large petals made entirely of lace. The sweetheart neckline displayed just collar bones demurely and the skirt fell in layers and layers of the softest tulle shimmering and glittering.

"This gown has been worn by generations of Malfoy brides and it would be an honor to the house of Malfoy, if you wore it on your and Draco's wedding." Narcissa said hesitantly, gauging the younger girl's reaction. "It changes to fit the type of person wearing it, not size but appearance. I remember when I wore it, it had turned the most beautiful golden… that would break your heart…" she said wistfully.

"Yes…. Definitely, it would be my honor to wear this…. This… piece of art." Hermione said softly tears filling down her face like a cascade.

Narcissa embraced the girl and said "Welcome to the family then…" her own tears dampening her face.

**(I wonder what it looked like if Bellatrix wore this gown?) :D**

…

_**A/N - Next Chapter: Morning of the Wedding, all those who review will get a sneak peak of it P.M'd to them and it has a few okay a lot of surprises, so you wanna review… **_


	38. Chapter 35: The Wedding (Part 1)

_**Raise Me Up**_

"Wake up Hermione!" came an excited whisper from above her, Hermione just mumbled incoherently and rolled further into the soft plush bed. "Come on! You're killing my buzz. Wake up!" and then came the incessant prodding, once, twice, thrice a long nail dug into her arm.

Hermione reluctantly opened her eyes, only to turn around and give the pest annoying her a piece of her mind…. Except the pest happened to her future mother –in –law whose eyes were glowing happily and whose cheeks were flushed with excitement.

"Narcissa, it's still dark. What time is it?" Hermione groaned out.

"It's six, wake up… wake up… wake up… wake up! There is so much to do, you have to get ready then I have to get ready then I have to go see that Draco gets ready and I think I had too many muffins last night." Narcissa said with a happy bounce. "Oh don't give me that look, I was nervous and I couldn't sleep and the muffins were just lying there … tempting me… saying 'come Narcissa eat us, you won't worry as much' so I ate them." She said with a guilty smile, nearly tugging Hermione arm out of its socket as she pulled her out of the bed.

"What the hurry, it's just six!" Hermione protested.

"Well it happens to be my only child's wedding; don't deny me the pleasure of treating you like my own personal dress-up doll today girl!" Narcissa said a little threateningly.

"I thought as the bride I was given importance…" said Hermione dryly.

"Oh you're important too, we need you for the wedding don't we?" Narcissa said with a casual wave of her hand. Both the women broke into fits of giggles and Hermione followed Narcissa down to the kitchen from where the scent of freshly brewed chamomile tea and scones was drifting out.

"The house elves are paid, don't worry." Narcissa teased her, "Anyway today is a full day. We will have the spa treatment in the house; a beautician friend of mine is coming to do your hair and make-up, the rest I'm sure we can manage." She said briskly.

"Good morning Cookie!" Greeted Narcissa as she and Hermione walked into the kitchen, the tiny wizened old elf grinned at her mistress. She was dressed in a neat little uniform consisting of a smart gray skirt and short-sleeved burgundy blouse with a gray hat.

The old elf had kind green eyes, she served them warm scones and croissants along with butter and delicious home-made raspberry and cherry jams.

Hermione smiled her thanks as Cookie poured her some tea, just as she liked it; with honey and a single cube of sugar.

As Hermione sipped her tea from the delicate gold and white bone china cup, Narcissa outlined the day's schedule.

"First Cookie and I will do some basic hair removal spells and Hermione it is going to hurt. Then Cookie has prepared some lovely treatments for us, there is a spa in the West wing of the house."

"You have a spa in your house?" Hermione snorted out incredulously.

"I bullied Draco into making me one for my last birthday." Giggled Narcissa, her cheeks warming with embarrassment. "Anyway don't change the subject!" she admonished, "Then Madam Malbec will see you and then you dress. While Madam Malbec is with you, I will pop in and check on Draco."

Hermione just nodded, biting down into the flaky bread.

"It's truly sad that you both don't get to go on a honey moon." Sighed Narcissa, "I would love some more grandchildren…" she said grinning shamelessly.

"Narcissa!" Hermione laughed out shocked.

"What..." she said innocently.

"You know we can't go anywhere with this wretched trial hanging over our heads, though I wish we could." Hermione sighed wistfully.

Narcissa reached out and held her hand gently; giving her a reassuring smile "It'll all be alright, just wait and see. When we were on trial after the war and me and Draco were acquitted I could see the hatred in Lucius's eyes. He thought we… I…. was abandoning him, abandoning what he believed in, what he thought we both believed in. But I stayed for Draco. There is always a reason women stay in abusive relationships, it's not that they aren't strong enough to leave their partners it's just that they have something else keeping them back. For me it was Draco, for you it was your former friendship. That's why these days I'm a little less quick to judge." She said wisely. "It'll be alright, now back to what's important!" she said clapping her hands.

"Mistress, Cookie and Jenny is ready for you and Miss. Granger." Came the squeaky voice of the house elf.

"It's going to hurt Hermione; I suggest you bring a towel to scream into."

Hermione eyes widened nervously, forgetting her half eaten pastry she rushed after her mother-in- law and the elves. She was ushered into Narcissa's room which had been prepared for their arrival, Hermione was pushed into a chair and the elves set about muttering incantations.

Within a few seconds Hermione was screaming bloody murder! Like wax strips the hair from her legs was ruthlessly and meticulously ripped off, with each shriek Hermione felt as though Narcissa was taking a kind of sadistic pleasure.

"Now your bikini line…." She purred out moving the sheet covering her hips higher, by now tears of pain were streaming down Hermione's cheeks, she just managed to gasp out "Please no… no more…"

"The price of beauty my girl is a heavy one." Narcissa said gravely, nodding towards the waiting elves.

An hour and fifteen minutes later, Hermione's body felt battered. She felt like she was on the last stage of psychological endurance in some series of intense torture; any minute now they're going to be stuffing my head down the loo and demanding names she thought with a pained huff.

"Are you done yet?" she whined.

"Not yet Hermione we still have to do your face…" Narcissa explained patiently.

"My face! What do you want to do to my face!?"

The younger elf just climbed onto her laps and muttered a suspicious sounding spell that made the hair on Hermione's eyebrows jump up off her face and fall into a neat pile on the floor. Only what was meant to just shape the eyebrows resulted in a rather dramatic accident. Instead of only the extra hair getting removed, Hermione entire eyebrow leapt of her face!

Narcissa gasped horrified,

"What? What's the matter!? What happened?" shrieked out the nervous bride –to-be.

"Nothing! Your fine, just keep your eyes closed!"

Hermione did the exact opposite; she opened her eyes and gasped at her reflection.

"Don't panic!" said Narcissa holding up her hands to stop Hermione's tirade.

"Don't panic! Don't panic! You say! How do I not panic, what happened to my face?"

"We'll grow them back." reassured Narcissa whipping out her wand.

"Do you know how to?!"

"Oh… dear… we're in trouble."

"Mistress, I is knowing how to do the spell." Squeaked Cookie, hurriedly muttering it out and getting Hermione her eyebrows back.

Both the women breathed a sigh of relief and soon Hermione stood naked in front of two elves and a mother-in-law, to be inspected, satisfied with their handiwork they carted Hermione off towards the West wing of the house where she would spend the entire morning being scrubbed and massaged and pampered.

"You know no one other than Draco is going to see me anyway." Said Hermione.

"Well he's the only one that matters; we're doing all this for him." Said the blonde woman shrewdly.

"That's true, so let's do this." Hermione said with a long suffering sigh.

Narcissa chuckled, "Don't sound so aggrieved. The painful part is over." She teased.

Hermione walked into a huge room with a low sunken stone tub, the room was steamy and smelled pleasantly of Sweet Marjoram, Moon Flowers and Trumpets. As soon as the scents seeped into her nostrils Hermione felt her limbs loosen and relax. The room was hazy and humid and Hermione stepped out of her robe and slid into the warm scented water.

This time she really had some space to think, they had rushed into this marriage idea so soon, that she barely had time to consider what she was doing. She knew she wasn't making a mistake but it felt rushed, like Draco was just doing this because of Ron and the whole Scorpius mess. Tonight she and Draco were going to make love; as much as the idea sent a flutter down her body she was nervous… she didn't want to disappoint Draco.

This was the disadvantage of being Hermione Granger… she always overthought things. As Harry said she could not control everything.

In the end what could go wrong, she loved him he loved her… it wasn't that hard…

Right?

…

"You'll be alright darling? I'll just pop in and have a see at how my son and grandson are doing?" asked Narcissa.

"She will be fine Narcissa, 'ze girl is perfectly safe in my company." Said Madam Malbec with a wave of her long nailed, bright pink nailed hand.

With a wave the older woman apprated out of the room. Leaving Hermione alone with the somewhat scary French woman waiting for her, Madam Malbec was a handsome woman of about fifty, with a stern countenance, she moved with considerable grace for someone as large as her. Her powdery white curls swinging in perfect synchronization.

"Come cheri, we must get on with et, we don't 'ave all day." She said clapping her hands impatiently, summoning Hermione to sit.

"Très, bell…" she sighed lifting Hermione's soft auburn, brown curls, "Ze are perfect, I sink I shall pull ze top half up and leave ze rest to hang au- naturel down your back. Oui? You shall look like a princesse."

Hermione nodded as the woman began to work with her hip length hair. After that came the make-up, all the mirrors had been blanked out so that Hermione was only allowed to see the end product.

Madam Malbec decided to do it muggle style because as she said, "Ze effect with magique ends with disaster." And Hermione had, had enough disaster for one day.

The make- up was minimal and natural, just hints of silvery shadow around her lids and light pink lipstick covered with gloss.

Narcissa was home by then, she gave a delighted cheer as she saw the end result and then both the women left Hermione so that she could change into her gown which had been taken out by Cookie and Jenny.

Hermione slipped into the delicate white gown, her legs shaking as she zipped it up and straightened the sleeves. It felt exquisite… the silk and lace ruffled against her smooth skin like wind and the gown fit and flattered her body. Now all that was felt was taking a look at herself, so she called Narcissa and Mariana inside.

The house elves and the two women walked inside.

Taking one look at Hermione, Narcissa's eyes filled with tears, Madam Malbec clapped her hands in glee and the two elves danced around happily, congratulating each other.

"Oh Hermione! You look like an angel…" sighed Narcissa, walking forward and enveloping her future daughter-in-law in a tight hug.

"There ez only one thing left to do." Said Mariana waving her wand and restoring the mirrors to normal, "You must take a look at yourself, you look absolument magnifique cheri."

Hermione turned around to look into the mirrors and examined herself, it was perfect…

She looked like herself yet more beautiful, the make – up hadn't hidden her true self like she had feared it would, it had just enhanced it. Her hair curled down in soft ringlets falling around her hips gently, it gleamed with health and vitality, its bright reddish, golden highlights glossy. Her warm skin was smooth and unblemished, her large mocha eyes shining with anticipation.

"Only two more things left…" breathed Narcissa, handing her a tiara and a veil.

"Oh Narcissa! These are beautiful! I couldn't…" she said, her eyes wide.

"I insist, the Malfoy family heirlooms are for each new bride who comes into this family and you are the new bride, so let me do the honours please?" she asked.

Hermione nodded and bent her head, feeling like she would burst with happiness when Narcissa placed the beautiful emerald and diamond studded tiara on her head. Next came the veil, so fine and smooth that Hermione felt like she was looking through a cloud.

"And as is the tradition, I stopped by your old house where you told me and picked up a piece of jewellery from your mother collection." She said, handing Hermione a beautiful pair of ruby and diamond earrings. Though they clashed, Hermione couldn't have cared less.

"She would have been so proud of you today darling…" sighed Narcissa "And she must be signing up there in heaven cursing that she couldn't be there for you today." She said wiping Hermione tears. "She must be so proud to have raised such a strong and beautiful daughter, and I'm sure she must be blessing you."

…..

**A/N:** _**Okay so this is part 1 of the Wedding chapter, since a lot of you P.M'd me saying you wanted a quick update, so here it is. So lots and lots of reviews guys, you know the drill :D the more reviews I get the faster I update. (and yes that is a bribe, I do not kid) because I have started the second bit… just saying. So remember REVIEW!**_


	39. Chapter 36: The Wedding (Part 2)

_**Raise Me Up**_

_Heart beats fast__  
Colors and promises__  
How to be brave__  
How can I love when I'm afraid to fall__  
But watching you stand alone__  
All of my doubt suddenly goes away somehow_

…_.._

_I need you to know this won't be broken__  
__And all that we said will not be lost into the dawn__  
__And you would be the last thing I saw coming__  
__I'm still surprised_

….

_And can you feel the love tonight__  
__It is where we are__  
__It's enough for this wide-eyed wanderer__  
__That we got this far__  
__And can you feel the love tonight__  
__How it's laid to rest__  
__It's enough to make kings and vagabonds__  
__Believe the very best_

…

_I can hear her heart beat for a thousand miles__  
__And the heavens open every time she smiles__  
__And when I come to her that's where I belong__  
__Yet I'm running to her like a river's song_

…_.._

_Are the stars out tonight?__  
I don't know if it's cloudy or bright__  
'Cause I only have eyes for you, dear__  
The moon may be high__  
But I can't see a thing in the sky__  
'Cause I only have eyes for you_.

….

Draco ran his hands over the satin lapels of his suit and breathed in the air; it was sweet with the scent of promise. He knew it was time… this was it…

As a surprise for his bride he had called and told Harry and Ginny, who along with Blaise and entire Weasley family including Bill and Charlie were waiting for them at the church. His mother had helped with the preparation; Draco was taking his bride to a tiny village church where they would be married in a traditional muggle ceremony; as a tribute to her parents.

He looked at himself in the mirror, his eyes shone bright with anticipation. His long floppy hair were pulled back loosely in an emerald green ribbon and his muggle tuxedo looked good, sliding a sprig of night's queen into his lapel and he was ready. Scorpius was in the play-pen behind him; dressed in an exact miniature version of his father's tuxedo, looking adorable. His cheeks were rosy and his eye's bright, he knew today was a special day.

Draco took his son and apparated to where they were going to get married, it was a tiny church in the country side; it was broken down and depleted. Only one wall stood with a huge stained glass window, brambles and vines had covered the broken down walls with a perfusion of wild, colorful flowers and right in the center stood an old, gnarled weeping willow with its soft leaves sweeping over the rubble. It was like a curtain waiting to parted, a princess waiting on the other side to greet him. Soon the soft dusky light would be throwing itself full-force through those colorful panels, bathing Hermione and him in its blessing.

He stepped inside, smiling at the greetings of his friends and family. Harry stood further off, his back to Draco and as Draco entered he walked up to him, clasping his shoulder in one hand he said in a low voice, "I may not have said this before, but if you do anything to hurt Hermione…." He let the last of his words trail of.

Draco understood, Harry had been beating himself up over the fact that he hadn't been able to help his best-friend and now he wasn't going to let it happen again.

"You have nothing to fear my friend; I would never do anything that would hurt her."

"Draco there are many ways for a man to hurt a woman he loves, not just physical. Be gentle with her, patient, kind. Don't rush her because you hold her hand in your heart, the one thing that gives you more power than Ron ever had. Treat it carefully; it is virgin in the ways of love. Just as yours is." Harry told his friend gravely.

"Come, your bride is arriving soon." Said Molly Weasley, leading Draco to the beautiful, holy yet broken alter. Behind him stood his best-man, Blaise and the rest of his groomsmen; Adrian and Theodore.

It was time….

….

"Keep your eyes closed." Said Narcissa leading Hermione forward. "Alright you can open them now."

Hermione gasped at the beauty in-front of her eyes; the cracked old church was beautiful. Not many people would have seen the beauty in it, but she understood what it was. From each crack rose new life, from each rip and tear on it's beautiful walls a flowering vine, young, tender, tentatively reaching towards the sun despite from the broken pieces of its past. It was poetic; the dusky pink light flitted like a fickle butterfly around the walls dancing in and out of reach. Birds sang, hidden in the thrushes, safe and protected. Tiny animals buzzed, bees flew from flower to flower collecting honey, and butterflies circled opening buds, like they were trying to coax them to open to the warmth.

Most people would have seen an old, broken down building past its glory. Hermione saw a phoenix rising from the ashes, living on not as its former self yet giving life in a way that only nature knew how.

"It's beautiful." She breathed.

"It is…" Narcissa agreed wholeheartedly, "Draco found it, said it was the perfect place for the two of you to be married. Come…"

Hermione walked hesitantly over the soft moss covering the entire floor of the church and stopped for just a moment and removed her shoes. Feeling more at ease now she walked in, her hands clutching the bouquet of orange blossom's and night queens. It was like a fairy tale, she thought dreamily as she looked at the weeping willows sweeping, leaves, curling down like a blessing and her prince waited for her on the other side.

Did he feel what she did? Anxious? Scared? Yet ever so excited at the prospect of being with her forever?

As she parted the soft branches and looked inside, her heart gave a thump of happiness as everyone she loved, smiled back at her. Equally excited!

A tap on her shoulder, made her turn. There stood Harry, his arm held out. He would walk her down the aisle. Hermione felt tears dampen her cheek as she took her best-frien… brother's hand. Proudly he led her down the aisle; where her prince waited for her, her prince who had only recently turned from an ogre to an angel. Her angel, her white knight savior and soon her lover.

Behind her, Molly and Narcissa dabbed their eyes with lacy handkerchiefs, they were saving the sobbing for the vows.

Ginny stood beside her, as she stepped up onto the alter next to Draco and gave her a wide, ecstatic smile.

Draco just stared, the moment she had walked in; parting those leaves he had been struck dumb by her sheer beauty.

It wasn't just the way she looked; it was the way she moved, the way she smiled, the way her eyes shone, the way her hands moved when she spoke. She was ethereal…. She glowed…. She made him believe…

It was like she moved in tune to her own music, her graceful hips, her tiny petit bare feet that he saw peeking out from under the gown danced. Her eyes called to him, entrancing him like a siren's song trapping him in their depths; helpless. Her mouth; her soft, pouted lips begged his kisses.

He was in tune with her, so deeply, so lost was he that he knew he would never emerge. The wind whipped her amber hair and her delicate veil around to reveal her fiery eyes. Eyes that were made to be turned sultry with desire, that were so deep and soulful they could sear him with one look.

She was his…

Hermione looked at her prince and felt a pull deep in her very soul. Her eyes flitted over each perfect feature, his kind eyes, his gentle smile and she knew, like instinct; he would never hurt her. He could never bear too.

He was her's.

And at that moment a wide ray of light shone through the glass bathing them in gentle warmth. A blessing from nature….

Hermione and Draco both lifted their faces to the sun, basking in the shared glory of their love.

…

"You have written down vows?" asked the Ministry of Magic justice of Peace, looking at the young couple.

Draco began first, "Hermione my love, I remember the first time I saw you on the Hogwarts Express. Your bushy hair, your teeth." He said amid goodhearted sniggers, "But I also remember seeing something I had never seen before. This flame…you shone with radiance. This hunger, like at each turn you needed to prove yourself and I was so drawn, because I had never seen such raw elemental feeling's before. Your passion is what I was attracted to, your passion was what I wanted to draw forth each time I angered you. Your fire, your radiance just bloomed through the years." He said awestruck "And here you stand before me now… blazing! My words are trite, petty even for they can never explain what I feel for you. I want to fly towards the sun with you, I want the world to know you are mine, I want to protect you, love you, worship you, give you all you wish for whilst I am both your slave and your master as you are mine, we are equal. You have changed me and I love you Hermione Granger." He finished to the sound of his mother's loud sobs and looked into his brides face to see her own eyes glittering with unshed tears.

"Draco yesterday before I went to bed I decided not to write anything because I felt that when I saw you the words would come. But they aren't because there are no words to describe what I am feeling right now; there is no emotion big enough to encompass it, no word apt enough to explain it. I wish to fly to the stars with you, to laugh in the sun with you and share your pains and your sorrows with you. To simply be…. We were always too intense to be just friends." She giggled, "I love you and I love your son… our son and the stars could go black and the sun could snuff out yet I would not leave you. You are mine, like I am yours." She said quoting his proposal to him. Before the minister began they shared a secret smile between them.

"Do you Draco Lucius Malfoy take Hermione Jean Granger to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

"I do." He said firmly, his eyes shining with love

"Do you Hermione Jean Granger take Draco Lucius Malfoy to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I do." She said her eyes glittering with happy tears

"You may now kiss your bride."

Draco bent and removed the veil from over his _wife's _face and placed his lips over her own luscious mouth, drinking greedily from the pool of endless love. Hermione shut her eyes and kissed him back, her body resonating happiness.

"I now give you Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy."

…..

"Well _Mrs. Malfoy_ are you tired yet?" Grinned Draco at his wife, who sat with their son in her lap.

"Not yet Mr. Malfoy, we still have to dance remember?" she teased.

Narcissa came over and relieved Hermione of Scorpius while Draco and she made their way to the dance floor.

Together they swayed to the beat of gentle, sweet music entirely lost in each other, not talking but still communicating yet even as other people drifted onto the mossy grass Draco and Hermione remained lost in each other.

Scorpius soon jumped out of his grandmother's arms and scampered over to his parents, tugging on Hermione dress to be lifted up.

Draco grinned at his son's tiny disgruntled face; he wasn't happy that they were not paying enough attention to him. So for the rest of the dance instead of just the two of them, they danced with Scorpius in the middle, happy once again to be the center of his parent's attention.

Soon everyone was sitting on the conjured chairs and Blaise stood up.

"The best-man speech is supposed to all about how we knew these two were going to get together but for Draco and Hermione I can honestly say no one saw this coming!" he grinned, "Anyway there were signs; like the only time Draco didn't act like a morose bastard in 6th year was when he was riling Hermione up but I have never seen two people more suited for each other. They are yin and yang, each different yet each compliments each other. Love like yours is rare and precious, cherish it... especially you Draco, Hermione can find another man. You won't find another woman to put up with you! I wish the both of you a happy married life and many- many babies all of whom I will be the godfather of." He teased lifting up his champagne glass. "Salute."

As the wedding was winding down, Draco took his new-wife's hand and walked back down the aisle with her and they were showered with grains of rice for luck.

Now was the time for them to be together…..

….

_**A/N: **_Something really dangerous happened today, I was just checking fanfic. Net with my phone and nearly deleted the story. Gosh just imagine 6 months' worth of work down the drain. And I am really sorry if there are things wrong or missing here because I really have no idea how westerners get married, I have taken inspiration form the many movies I have seen and the T.V shows but truly forgive me if I have missed something out. : )


	40. Chapter 37: Wedding Night

**_A/N:_** _Spare me; I'm not adept at writing scenes like this._

_**Raise Me Up**_

Hermione was nervous, her heart thumped loudly in her chest and she felt slightly dizzy; giddy with excitement some would say, nauseous with fear was more like how she would describe it. That tiny niggling granule of doubt still plagued her. She knew Draco would never hurt her, forcing herself to relax she took slow deep breaths.

Draco noticing her distress reached for her hand and squeezed it reassuringly and said gently, "There is nothing I would force you to do my love. We can wait…"

Hermione shook her head defiantly, "No Draco, it's time I got over this. You are not Ron; I know you… I love you and I trust you. You won't hurt me…" she said cupping his face with both her hands, "Not in a thousand years…"

"Not of the sun snuffs out or even if the stars go black…" he finished for her, gently he reached out and captured both her wrists in his large hands and kissed her; slow and deep, running his hands over the silky fall of her auburn hair. Tugging her closer and closer to him, till Hermione clung to the lapels of white dress shirt, her tiny hands clinging desperately.

"Oh! Draco… Draco.. I'm burning..." she gasped incoherently.

Draco ran the sides of his thumbs down her satiny skin, feeling her warm breath drift over him like a summer's breeze, ragged and fractured. Before she had finished her sentence; he was kissing her, plundering her mouth. He'd yearned to hold her, _love her_ like this for what seemed to be a life time.

"Gentle love; gentle like only you can be." He murmured to her, his lips caressing her delicate shell like ear. "What's the rush? We have a life time together now angel."

A dizzying, almost painful excitement gathered inside her, making her quiver. He was so heartbreakingly beautiful… her Draco. With his wild wind tossed hair and his warm loving eyes.

Hermione shut her eyes in pleasure as he ran his fingers down her pale white throat, following the burning trail with his lips. Kissing her soft neck and trailing a line of butterfly kisses to her pulse that throbbed like a mad thing at the base of her throat.

Draco ran his gentle fingers over her translucent skin, giving little nips with his teeth and then soothing them with his heavenly tongue.

Hermione gave him a slight push back; he was so receptive to even her lightest touch that he understood immediately that she wanted him to move away.

"I want to look at you…" she said huskily, "It's my turn now…. Stay still Draco, please." She said imploringly.

He just nodded and began to move backwards until he was leaning against the frame of the bed. Hermione followed tentatively, reaching out to unbutton his shirt with fingers that shook, his quixotic, mercurial blue eyes were full of longing and she sensed the powerful self –restraint he was employing to keep himself from dragging her into his arms.

But she continued, her small finger moving slowly as they opened out each button. Draco growled under his breath as he felt her soft skin on his chest for the first time; Hermione threw his shirt to the ground and ran her hands adoringly, wonderingly up his hard, packed torso. "Still my love, stay still…" she whispered.

She began her journey at his collarbone, kissing down his chest to his muscular pectoral's and his hard abdomen. Her hands spanned out over his lean hipbones as she tasted his skin for the first time. He was like sin, now that she's had a taste, she wanted more…

The musky warmth of his body sent shock after shock of desire down her body; as her exploring fingers ran over his upper-body Hermione felt Draco tense and looked up into his desire drenched eyes, running her hands over his sculptured cheek-bones she reached up and kissed him deeply, like she was taking courage from him.

"Is it my turn again?" he said huskily. Hermione nodded shyly and felt his presence behind her, Draco kissed down her nape; gently undoing all the snaps and hooks that held her gown to her body; following his hand movements with kisses.

As Hermione stepped out of the gown and turned to Draco, he uttered a low groan. "You look… breathtaking…" he murmured as he kissed down the valley of her breasts just at the edges of the lace on her corset, his hands clasping her waist. Hermione was drowning in a sea of feeling; nothing had ever felt this good… this right.

Hauling her into his arms Draco lifted her up, carrying her to the huge bed. As he laid her between the cool sheets, he bent and kissed her, a kiss so deep and profound that Hermione had never experienced one like it before… it filled her with such intoxicating heat that she cried out. His taste nearly sent her of the edge of the precipice, making her blind with longing.

Removing the last few barriers separating them, Draco worshiped each dip and curve of her luscious body; creating a hurricane of need that ripped through all her inhibitions.

"I want…. Oh! Draco…" she moaned,

"What do you want my love… this?" he said in a raw voice as he sucked on one burgeoning nipple, "Or this? Humm…?" he said as he kissed down her stomach and ran his tongue over her belly button.

"Yes!" she cried out ecstatically, her body nearly coming of the bed, "Oh yes…" she rasped.

Draco continued on his downward path, his lips caressing her inner thighs, then going further down, kissing over her calf and down to her soft tiny feet. His lips gently slid over her instep and up and down the arch; Hermione moaned out, pleading with him to stop the hot flames engulfing her rapidly.

"Slow my love." He teased in his raspy desire laden voice, "We have all night…"

Hermione grasped his broad shoulders as her body arched into his, begging without words, demanding to be released from his sexual sorcery.

Draco's next target was the soft lips of her flower; gently he kissed up the soft inner skin to the petals of her hidden rose. Light teasing brushes of his tongue followed by soft caresses told him just how ready she was for him.

Lifting himself up, he pressed into her gently; slowly penetrating her. Hermione gasped out… for the first few seconds blinding pain robbed her of her voice but then the most delicious feeling of wantonness took over her body and she began to move experimentally, her soft arches and gentle keening cries telling Draco all he needed to know.

He filled her so completely and felt so right...

She was so tight groaned Draco, moving slowly so that he didn't hurt her.

Soon their bodies were dancing in the rhythm as old as time itself, moving in complete sync with each other. Their gasps and moans a symphony of pure blind unadulterated desire…

Hermione felt something building in her; the sensual ride was hurtling out of control! And she had never felt better, gasping loudly she went hurtling into the abyss of ecstasy her loud cries ringing out in carnal pleasure; as she rode the waves of stormy, blind passion endlessly.

Draco followed….. His own gruttal, savage release sending him hurtling after her into the brutal well of endless pleasure.

Together they rode out the storm and sank back to earth from the heavens. Their bodies clasped in an embrace so heartbreakingly beautiful that it would stop Satan's breathe.

Hermione's soft curves were pressed against Draco's hard edges, his blond hair mixed with her own autumn locks; he couldn't bear to leave her so soon, to break their connection. Clinging to each other; each's eyes devoured the beauty of the other; vivid cerulean mixed and held warm mocha in a declaration of love so true and natural. Skin clung to skin.

As what had been two individuals before now became one.

A bond formed of love and respect, togetherness and trust.

…..


	41. Chapter 38: Lies and Conflicts

_**A/N:**_ I know I said in my authors note yesterday that I had to stop writing but today I decided that instead of taking a hiatus I am going to finish this story in the following week and then I am going to go of fanfiction for my exams. Leaving Raise Me Up and all its readers hanging seemed like a lot of unfinished business to me. So there we go; I do expect to see a lot of reviews though. 50 per chapter (just kidding; though that would be nice, since I am finishing the story before I go on hiatus)

….

_**Raise Me Up**_

Draco and Hermione sat together watching the rising sun; just like on their first date. Hermione wore a soft white robe and lay cuddled in her husband's arms; husband… it still felt so odd to say it and nice to, it gave her a warm fuzzy feeling in her heart, like she had just swallowed a huge cup of warm, melty chocolate. He had shown her just how beautiful an expression of physical love could be; with the right man that is.

Draco had taken her fears and tossed them into the winds, carrying them far away from her. She never knew how much of a hold these thoughts had on her till yesterday; when Draco had first touched her she felt such blind fear that she had been ready to shove him away from her and run but then he kissed her, reminding her that he was in fact her chosen lover, not someone who had forced themselves upon her. Everything she had done after she left Ron was about ensuring her survival and keeping her self-preservation instinct intact.

Being with Draco just was… pure, no pretenses, no nonsense, no hiding behind a mask of false bravado. Just pure feeling…

It had been so long since she had truly been free; the last time she felt like this was when she was about seven or eight before her magic had begun to show.

_She was with her parents in a fair and she remembered running first thing to the big, bright carousel. The memory was so vivid in her mind even now that if she shut her eyes; instead of the sound of the waves she could hear the cheerful medley of flutes and banjos, her own laughter ringing out behind her as the little unicorn she sat on moved faster and faster with the music; turning the whole world into a kaleidoscope of wondrously bright, blurry colors that seemed to dance a jig with the music. _

_Her parents smiling faces as they waved to her from the crowd of people around the merry-go-round. The rest of the faces were nothing but a fuzz of happy thoughts, her eyes had been trained only on the center of her small universe… her parents. _

_She still remembered the sticky sweetness of the fluffy pink candy-floss that clung to her cheeks and face long after they had left the carnival; she remembered begging her parents till they relented and let her have the sweet treat._

It was one of her best memories and now they were gone and all she had were these little bits and pieces to remember them by.

Her darling mother and father who would have been so proud of her and supportive too, just as they had been when they found out their daughter was a witch, just like they were when she returned their memories in Australia, just as they were when she cried at home during the nights because of being bullied, just as they were when she left Ron.

They went peacefully; together in their sleep, like they couldn't bear being apart for too long. And that's how she had them buried, as they were; holding hands and with light, loving smiles on their faces…

She would always remember her parents smiling at her from the crowd near the carousel; that was the one thing that made her feel safe above all else, she knew they would always be there to catch her when she fell.

Draco looked at his wife who just sat, wordlessly looking into the vast horizon with a look of strange peace on her face.

"What's the matter?" he asked gently, clasping her hand in his own.

"I can finally let go." She said simply, turning away from him and looking back towards the pink sky.

Draco didn't ask her what she meant; he instinctively knew that Hermione's heart was finally at peace.

Suddenly a pop of apparition was heard beside them and the couple looked up shocked when a tiny house-elf appeared before them.

Hermione recognized the bright sundress immediately and reached over to steady Berry who looked out of breath and terrified, her long ears drooped and her wide eyes were filled with tears.

"Oh Miss. Granger, Berry is so glad she caught you before you returned to London." Squeaked the little elf nearly beside herself.

"What's the matter Berry?" said Hermione anxiously.

"I is having to come to warn you soon as possible, they is dangerous men Miss!" she squealed jumping up and down in fright.

"Who is dangerous Berry?! Calm down and tell me!?" demanded Hermione.

"Two men is coming into my masters inn last night; bad men from Nocturne Ally, mean looking and they were very nasty to Berry. When Berry is going to change their linen she is hearing what they is saying! Something so bad… Oh! So bad indeed! They is saying that they had better get rid of you as soon as possible as they is already out of time! And Berry is so scared that she is coming straight to you Miss! You must leave at once! They will be going to your home and waiting for you; one in your old house and one in Mr. Malfoy's house so that you cannot escape!" babbled the tiny creature hysterically.

"How did you find me Berry?" asked Hermione gravely.

"I is going straight to the Auror office and saying that I is having very important information to help you Miss but they is laughing at Berry. Then I is going to the Malfoy Mansion and meeting Miss, Narcissa and the young lad; she is believing me and sending me here! Oh! Please tell me you believe me Miss!? Otherwise you is going to get very gravely hurt!" she wailed unhappily.

Draco took over here, "It was very brave of you to come here Berry." He said softly, "And very noble of you to want to help us; if you really want to help, then you must go to Harry Potter. You know Harry Potter don't you Berry?" the elf nodded vigorously, her floppy ears bouncing.

"Good then you must go to him, I will tell you where and tell him exactly what you saw and heard okay? I will keep Miss Granger here; with me. She will be safe and when you tell Harry what happened. You come back here. Understood?" he dictated calmly. The little elf looked at Hermione for confirmation and when the shaken Hermione managed a smile, Berry nodded her assent and took off to do Draco's bidding.

When they heard the pop of apparition, Hermione finally let loose her anger and frustration:

"Draco! Is there no end to this!? When can I have a peaceful life with you and Scorpius without worrying about Ron trying to rape me or people trying to kill me?!" Hermione said getting up, her beautiful face ashen and white, and her hands quivering with furious despair.

"Hush my love… " said Draco getting up and sliding his arms around his wife's waist and placing a kiss on her shoulder. "It'll be alright…"

…..

Finally at around three in the afternoon when Hermione had gone in to take a nap, having worn herself out and Draco was out on the deck doing some work he had his assistant send over, did Harry show up, the little elf walking behind him timidly.

Draco raised a finger to his lips indicating to the both of them to keep quiet and pointed to the deck.

Harry strode out onto the patio and immediately grabbed the pot of black coffee and poured himself a cup and gulped it down half almost in one go.

"Hermione is finally asleep after pacing around all day." Draco said softly, lifting the tiny elf onto a chair and then sitting down himself, "Don't make a sound, I don't want her to wake up."

Harry nodded and gave Draco a grim look that didn't bode well with him; "Take the coffee." He said pushing a cup of strong black towards his friend, "You're going to need it."

"I take it Berry was right about what she heard." Snarled Draco bitterly gulping down the warm liquid that suddenly tasted rancid to him.

"Damn straight." Said Harry seriously, "If she hadn't warned you and alerted me when she did; you and Hermione would probably be lying dead at home." He bestowed a warm smile upon the little creature that was looking at them with curiosity in its big eyes, it's little bony hands clutching the table-top to hold itself up to their level.

"What happened?" Draco spat out savagely, trying in vain to hide the fear he felt for his wife and son's life. "Start at the beginning…."

"Well after you sent her to me; Berry landed in my house giving me and Ginny the shock of our lives; babbling on about some plot to kill 'Miss, Hermione' when Gin and I got her to calm down sufficiently and tell us what was happening, she told us how Hermione had met her before and how the two men came into her master's inn and how she heard them while changing their bed-clothes. Then I asked her to describe them she told me; one had long greasy black hair and dark green eyes, she told us he stank of cigarettes and the other was slim, well dressed and spoke softly but he was much scarier because he had as she put it 'cold eyes', I thought the description was familiar." He said pushing a picture forward for Draco examine, "Meet Adrian Livingstone AKA The Shark… he likes to bite people in half and chew them up." Harry smirked sardonically, "He's a nasty bloke, works out of Nocturne Ally; Druids and Dragon and The Damned, I think. It's a cover for his real business."

"And pray tell what is his real business?" said Draco disgustedly.

"He's a mercenary; a solider for hire. Give him enough gold and he's the man for you; his kill jobs are clean and effortless, we know he did it but we can't pin it on him because he cleans up after himself so well you'd think the entire place was rubbed down with bleach." Harry barked out sarcastically, his scowl mirrored by Draco. "He is one smooth bastard and smug as hell too. So we arrived at your place and sent another team to Hermione's old apartment. The bastard set us up! Two patsy's in two different places and he was gone like smoke in the wind."

"So you mean he's still out there!" came a terrified female voice from behind Draco. "This man! Who wants to kill me! He's still out there?!" came a shrill voice and the all three of them turned to look at Hermione who stood shaking at the doorway; her bright eyes feverish and dark violet smudges under her eyes, "Answer me Harry!? Is he still out there?!" she shrieked.

"Hermione…" Harry began but was cut off by her voice.

"Don't lie to me, don't you lie to me…" she said bitterly.

"Hermione we're doing everything we can." Said the dark haired wizard helplessly.

"You're still not telling me the whole truth! I am not some helpless flower who cannot defend herself Harry James Potter, remember who fought the war with you! Now tell me the truth!" she said furiously; her brown eyes glittering golden with anger.

When Harry remained mum; Hermione shrieked with rage and rushed back inside the house and in a few seconds before they could even get to her they heard the door slam behind her.

…

**50 or more review ;) , you know you want to… come on click that review button :D**


	42. Chapter 39: The Mercenary

_**A/N:** _**_Let's get this show on the road peps! Remember 50 reviews! (Per chapter :P)_**

_**Raise Me Up**_

Hermione was furious; she could understand Draco wanting to protect her but this! This was unacceptable… how dare they hide things from her, things that concerned her life!

While furiously stalking away from the house she hadn't noticed where she had ended-up; it was on the other side of the island.

This place was more untamed, not looked after, the forest was running wild and it would be hard to be found if she got lost here; regardless she walked on, this man wanted to kill her, so he would come after her.

Harry may think she had become weak but Hermione wasn't going to let anything happen to her son or her husband and if she just sat and waited like this… waited for this man to come find her; something would surely happen to them and she could not bear to live with that burden.

So here she was alone… if he had been smart enough to send to patsies; then surely he was smart enough to know where she and Draco were.

Let him come; she thought grimly, Harry may be an Auror but she was the Smartest Witch of Their Age and if Ron wanted to play dirty then by Merlin she would show him how dirty was really played…

She determinedly walked deeper and deeper into the forest casting a covert **_Homenum Revelio_ **behind her every few minutes ; someone was following her… and it wasn't Harry or Draco; had it been them, they would have come bursting out of the thick undergrowth and demanded she return home with them. Hermione was going to wager a guess that it was Mr. Livingstone who was getting ready to bite her in half and chew her up but just to be sure she cast another charm **_Malevolence Sive Bonum_** a tricky little spell she had mastered just recently; it told her if the person she cast the spell on had good intentions or not. The end of her wand shone bright red, indicating the coming danger.

He was still behind her; so Hermione entered the nearest clearing. Lifting her wand she began to cast; surrounding the clearing in both a shield and a muffling charm along with a few more obscure charms that would prevent his escape. Keeping him here would be for the best; she might just get the information she wanted from him. "**_Quantum Ansa_** ." she muttered under her breathe; it was a very powerful charm she had come across in an old tome in her bookshop; a Quantum Loop charm that stuck to any shield or barrier you cast it on, so though the perpetrator might break the shield he would never be able to enter because his body would be stuck in pseudo time and space and the would never be able to get to the person inside the shield charm but just as a precaution Hermione cast a_** Protego Horribilis**_ over herself and sat down on to wait.

She felt perfectly calm, no heart thumping, no breath catching; this was something she was familiar with and this was what she did; she fought dark wizards who sought to harm her and her family.

Soon enough she heard the tell-tale crunching of leaves outside her clearing; if this man was like every other overconfident, cocky half-baked dark wizard she had ever encountered, he was going to storm into the clearing without the slightest thought about what spells had been cast inside.

Sure enough the tall wizard stepped into the clearing with a smirk on his face. Hermione just sat and enjoyed the show; the first foot he placed inside was jerked back and he was stuck in-between the shield and her Quantum charm. Hermione just got up and laughed coldly, "**_Petrificus Totalus_** ." she said casting a full-body-bind on him and then , "**_Levicorpus_ **and** _Locomotor_ **." were used to bring him into the center of the clearing.

"You play dirty, Mrs. Malfoy." Said the man trying to move with no avail.

"I have to Mr. Livingstone otherwise bastards like you would harm my family." She said coldly, glaring up at him; "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you right now…" she said twirling her wand in her hand.

"Because I am of value… I could tell you things…" said the slim man, his light blue eyes giving away his desperation even though his face and voice remained passive and calm.

"But there is nothing that you could tell me, that I already don't know." Said Hermione sweetly, lifting up her wand.

"Oh… But that's where you're wrong my dear lady; I know things… things that could be of great value to you…"

"And why should I believe you; you're scum, a soldier for hire, you'd be willing to lie about anything given enough gold." Hermione said skeptically.

"I assure you Mrs. Malfoy, my life is worth more than all the gold anyone can offer me, without my life how will I enjoy my gold? If you let me go…."

"While your offer is tempting mercenary; I don't think I would feel safe with you out in the world…" she said beginning to lift her wand.

"WAIT!" he cried, "What if I told you who hired me to kill you…"

"I know who hired you." Said Hermione, her wand still in position.

"What if I told you, it isn't who you think it is…" he said

"Then I'd say you were lying through your teeth and I won't believe you." She said a little more uncertain now.

"Do you really want to take that chance; I mean if you kill me and the person who hired me finds out, they'll just send another one in my place." He said desperately.

"Then I'll do the same thing to them what I did to you…"

"It's someone close to you; someone who you thought you could trust!"

"You lie!" shrieked Hermione, now her wand back at her side.

"Why would I lie!? I have nothing left to lose Hermione…" said the bound man seriously.

"If I let you down will you tell me?" she asked.

"I will but you have to let me go, otherwise they will just send someone else. I can report back to you…" he said convincingly.

" **_Liberacorpus_**_." _she said the incantation and let him down; keeping him in a full-body-bind, "Who is it?" she said, holding her wand to his throat, "Who wants to hurt me and my family?"

"Not you and your family, just you…." He said softly.

"Molly Weasley…"

…..

_**Malevolence Sive Bonum **_**and **_**Quantum Ansa**_** are both my spells.**

**There is the review button… press it.. press it… press it… you know you want to! :D**


	43. Chapter 40: Veritaserum

_**Raise Me Up**_

"You liar…." Hissed Hermione threateningly, "Molly would never do that to me!"

"Give me Veritaserum or take my memories, I swear I am not lying! Look I have a wife and a child; I need the money, that's why I do this job. I fought with the death-eaters, no one wants to employ me!" he said desperately.

Hermione paused for a second, her wand was still in place but she hesitated; "Fine, I need to take you to the house first… no funny business understood?"

Without waiting for his consent; Hermione levitated him and began to walk back the same way she had entered the forest. The Point Me spell guiding her home.

She was skeptical but he seemed sincere, the only way to find out the truth was to give him Veritaserum though she hoped that he was lying. Molly had been like a mother figure for her since she was eleven and since her own parents could not be with her in the wizerding world; it was true that she had displayed signs of displeasure often regarding Harry and Ron's friendship with her. But Hermione adored Mrs. Weasley and she just couldn't wrap her head around the fact that it was her who had hired Mr. Livingstone. Another thing she was worried about was Harry; he was going to be furious with Hermione for believing him.

The beach house came into view around the corner and Hermione began to dread the reactions she was going to get. The silhouette of a man standing guard on the deck made her heart go thumping in fear; she really wanted to know the truth and by Merlin she was going to fight to get to it, she thought grimly.

Draco spotted a determined looking Hermione walking towards the house and breathed a sigh of relief mingled with exasperation that was until he caught sight of what she was bring with her…

"Hermione!" he yelled nearly jumping of the deck and rushing towards her, "What are you doing!? Where did he find you?! Are you hurt?!" he said in a hurry while running towards her.

"I'm perfect Draco." She said haughtily, "This is Mr. Livingstone; who I presume you know and he had some very interesting things to tell me. Things that I intend to find out the truth about. You had best get Harry because I think he is going to want to hear this." She said marching of with towards the house.

"Hermione he is a mercenary… sent to kill you! May I remind you of that fact." Said her husband exasperated.

"I know perfectly well who he is Draco and what he is capable of and as you can see he cannot harm me so you should also know what I am capable of." She said glaring at him.

"Hermione I was just trying to protect you…"

"By hiding the facts from me! Draco that is not protection that is smothering! We have to deal with this together. You and me; not you and Harry hiding things from me while I am left to flounder around clueless in the dark!" she said feeling a faint twinge of guilt because she had not told him about Astoria.

"Hermione…" he said with a shocked expression, "Come on you know that's not true…"

"Draco I don't have time for this… now can you help me. Give me one answer yes or no." she said blandly.

"Yes, yes of-course I'll help you…" he sighed. "What do you need?"

"I need you to make some Veritaserum, Mr. Livingstone here has some very interesting things to tell us but I need to confirm if they are true or not" she said glaring up at the suspended man.

Once inside the house, Hermione lowered the man onto one of the couches. Draco held a glass of water to his lips which he consumed rapidly.

"What is your name?" asked Draco, as he lifted the glass from the man's lips.

"What are you doing Draco?" hissed Hermione, "We haven't given him Veritaserum yet."

"I just did; the serum works best on an unsuspecting body. If I had warned him about when I was giving it to him; he could have resisted it." Answered Draco calmly.

"Adrian Livingstone." Came the reply, Hermione turned to look at the man. He gave of no outward signs of being under the influence of the potion other than his slightly unfocused eyes.

"Good, now Mr. Livingstone can you tell me your age and if you have a wife and a child."

"I am twenty five and no wife just a small daughter, Beatrice."

"What happened to your wife Adrian?"

"She was killed during the riots of Azkaban by one of the other convicts."

"Alright; when did you start doing what you do?"

"Right after she died, three years ago. I gave up being a mercenary when I was married but I needed the money to raise Beatrice."

"Can you tell me who hired you to kill my wife?"

"Molly Weasley…"

"Why?"

"Because she felt if Miss. Granger was gone then it would be easier to have her son come home to her. She was angry with him at first but she feels that she has lost too many children already and she isn't ready to have one locked up for the rest of his life or exiled. She want's Ron to come home and the only why that is possible is for Miss. Granger to be dead. She has seen your lawyer's case and she feels that they cannot win." He said honestly.

"Wait how has she seen our case?" said Draco stopping the man in the middle.

"His lawyer; Molly told me she had come to see her and convince her that it was too much of a burden on any mother to lose so many of her children, so why should she let her son slip out of her hands when he is right here."

"Since when was she planning this?" snarled Draco livid.

"The wedding, that just made her more convinced. She has begun to feel that it is the right thing to do to kill Miss. Granger because now she feels if Hermione had loved Ron the way she loves you then Ron would never have kidnapped her."

"Her perception has been warped." Said Draco to his wife, "She has started to blame you for what happened. Darling there is no way she is going to changed her mind now…"

Hermione knew that too; she knew it from the start after all who could blame Molly. She was a mother who wanted to think the best of her child and it was easy to lay the blame on other peoples feet especially Hermione's.

If only Hermione had loved him enough… If only Hermione had been more understanding… If only Hermione had put up with him…

She understood Molly's grief and guilt over Fred's death and now she was absolutely not going to let another child be taken away.

But what was Hermione going to do? This was a mess…

The same moment she heard the door open and Harry and Ginny's voice float over to them…

….

A/N: _**You guys make me feel all warm and fuzzy with your comments :D So don't forget to review. Oh and I have school tomorrow, I know that sucks cuz it's a Saturday but what you gonna do. So next update on Sunday, okay…**_


	44. Chapter 41: The Pensive

_**Raise Me Up**_

"Hermione! Where did you find him?! Are you okay?!" said Harry coming forward and hugging her; Hermione stood stiff and went even more ridged when she saw Ginny coming in after Harry.

"I'm afraid I have some bad news for you." She said detached. "It wasn't Ron who sent Mr. Livingstone."

"It wasn't?" said Harry bewildered, "Then who was it?"

"Why don't you ask him yourself; he under the influence of Veritaserum." She murmured moving behind her husband a little.

"You know Veritaserum is not admissible in court?"

"I know; I just wanted some answers from him." Said Hermione.

"It's best if you catalogue and confirm he is under the influence before you ask him anything, because you might not like what he has to say." Said Draco quietly, his hand resting protectively on Hermione waist.

Harry shot them an odd look full of confusion and then walked up to the man on the couch. All the outward signs were there; unfocused, blank eyes, slow pulse rate, unsteady breathing.

"Mr. Livingstone, my name is Harry Potter; do you know who I am?" Harry said clearly.

…

"You believe him?! He is scum!" yelled Harry furiously.

"Hermione I'm shocked at you; my mother has treated you like a daughter!" Shrieked Ginny. Lifting her hand she struck Hermione hard across the cheek. Leaving a bright red hand print behind.

"The man is under the influence of Veritaserum! He is not lying!" yelled Hermione back. "Ginny face the facts! Not everyone has your rosy glow view on life!"

"Fine if he is truly under the influence than his memories won't be doctored. There is a pensive at my office; I'll get it and we'll have a look at his memories." Said Harry coldly; glaring at Hermione and Draco while dragging his furious wife back.

"Harry! You cannot be serious! This is my mother we are talking about!" yelled Ginny angrily, her face was flushed a furious red and her hands shook with controlled rage.

"Ginny you cannot ignore the facts; if he is truly telling the truth…"

"So! She's right…" said Ginny bitterly, "Why should Hermione find happiness so easily while my brother rots in a cell."

"Because he tried to rape her!" said Draco furiously. "Or have you forgotten about that?!"

"Who knows…. Hermione could be lying." Said Ginny sneakily, glaring acidly at the older witch.

"Ginny you cannot believe that?!" Hermione said sadly.

"Why not; you had me believe my brother was a drunken whore monger!" she snarled. "You bitch! How dare you try and pin this on my mother!"

"Ginny enough is enough…" said Harry quietly, "We know Ron is to blame for what happened; this thing about Molly can only be sorted one way."

Harry apprated out of the house and straight to his office. Minutes later he was back carrying the pensive with him.

"This is it… whatever we see here, is what we are basing our assumptions on." Harry said.

Draco cast a quick spell on Adrian Livingstone to make him unconscious so that he could not tamper with his memories and then extracted the memories from him.

The silvery threads were tipped into the pensive and Harry stepped close, keeping his head near the pool of memories he was sucked in, Ginny shooting Hermione another dirty look complied reluctantly going in after her husband.

Hermione and Draco held hands as they both stepped through the time portal.

_Adrian had made sure no one was present when he showed up at the Weasley residence, his knock was soft but the plump, short woman answered immediately like she had been waiting for him._

_Adrian noted the signs of worry on her face; she looked haggard. The ravage of tears and stress had brought lines around her kind brown eyes and her lips were pursed. Her clothes were old, darned again and again, wrinkled and at least a day old, clearly her decision to call him was causing her guilt but she was determined. _

"_Hello Mr. Livingstone, my name is Molly Weasley. I am the mother of Ron Weasley who has been in the news these past few days." She said in a soft, subdued tone, "Would you like some tea and cake?" she guided him to the old but strong wooden table in the middle of her kitchen where delicate china was set out. _

_Her hands shook as she poured Adrian some tea and cut him some cake… they shook very badly, gently prying the knife from her fingers he set it down on the tray._

"_Why do you need my help Mrs. Weasley?" he asked puzzled._

"_I have heard about what you do and… and… and… I have a… a… job for you." She said haltingly, fetching her handkerchief from the pocket of her dress she dabbed her eyes. _

From where she was standing Hermione heard Ginny's loud gasp of shock and turned to look at the younger girl who had tears shimmering in her eyes.

"_Tell me about this job Molly?" _

"_No one knows I am going to hire you, I have saved up some money of my own. My husband… Arthur thinks it is my sons own fault but…." She stopped and then continued with a fierce light shining from her eyes, "It was that girl, if she had been good to him. He wouldn't have had to do this. It's all her fault!" she said venomously, her bitter tone tugging something in Hermione heart._

"_Which girl?" _

"_Hermione Granger, I want you to kill her…" said Molly coldly, her hands no longer shaking, "I want her dead. I won't lose another child of mine because of her. Whatever Ron did; I can forgive but those interlopers…. Her and Harry Potter! I won't let any of MY children suffer on their account!" she said angrily, "No one can know! Understand!? No one! I will deal with you alone, the money and other matters I will handle. Never approach my family. They will never accept me doing this!" she said handing him a velvet pouch that jangled with money. _

"_Molly, are you sure?"_

"_Yes…" she said laughing coldly, "Oh! Yes, the second war started because of Harry Potter where I lost one of my boys… Fred, I have hated him ever since! And that Hermione Granger! I always knew my boy Ron was too good for her, always on her high horse, little miss-know-it-all. She broke his heart! That's the only reason he began to act out! So she deserved it! She deserved whatever he was going to do to her!" Molly shrieked, her eyes glittering madly, her ranting continued. "It was her fault… all her fault and I will see to it that she pays. My little boy will not go to prison because of her! Kill her! And do what you want with the corpse, that bitch does not deserve any happiness when my baby is sitting in a cell without his family!" her eyes glittered with malicious intent. "And I warn you Mr. Livingstone; I know about your little Beatrice so be careful because I am not a kind enemy. It would not be wise to cross me…" _

"_I will see to it that the girl is dead before the trial begins, but don't and I repeat don't threaten my child because trust me Mrs. Weasley, even I am not a kind enemy and I don't take to threats very well." He said coldly; picking up the pouch of coins._

The memory slowly dissolved into smoke and a new one took its place,

"_Bea, daddy has to go someplace. I have some work okay sweetheart." Said Adrian smiling down at the small five year old girl. She just nodded; her pigtails bouncing._

"_I'll be good daddy; I'll stay with Mrs. Weasley and be a good girl. I promise." She said solemnly holding out her arms for a hug from her father._

_Adrian hugged his baby close and looked at Molly standing absolutely still in the background he knew that if he didn't finish of the Granger girl today, it would be hell to pay._

_Determinedly he walked towards the door; throwing a warning glance towards Molly. It meant, if she touched his daughter she was dead woman._

"_Oh, I won't have to Adrian if you do your job. Just remember what happens to sweet little Bea if you don't finish Hermione Granger." said Molly coldly, "I have experienced losing a child and I don't wish that on anybody. It is worse than death…"_

_As he walked out her ominous words rang in his ears…. _

Hermione was suddenly thrown back into their Beach house living room; she rubbed her eyes like she was awaking from a dream and looked over to Ginny who was just standing dumbstruck.

"We have to talk your mother out of it Gin." Said Harry soothingly.

"There is no point Harry; how do you explain to a devastated mother that her son is guilty?" said Ginny quietly, the red head was not yet ready to look at Hermione.

"Hermione we totally understand if you want to take legal action…" began Harry apologetically.

"No!" exploded Ginny, "Isn't it enough that she has sent my brother to be locked up but now my mother! No! I won't let it happen!" she snarled.

"It's not your decision." Harry said to his wife coolly, "Your mother sent a killer after her if Hermione chooses to exercise her legal rights; she is within the boundaries to do so."

"I cannot believe you are taking her side over this!" shrieked Ginny at her husband.

"Ginny I am not taking sides! This is what happened! Can you not grasp that, your mother THREATENED to HARM a CHILD! If this man did not do what she told him to! Wake up!" Harry said furious; nearly shaking his wife.

"I'm sure the pensive memories are wrong!" said Ginny desperately.

"They aren't, I knocked him out before I took them. So that they couldn't be tampered with." Said Draco firmly. "In repose the human body is defenseless."

"Hermione what do you want to do?" asked Harry.

"Don't ask her!" said Ginny aghast.

"Shut-up! Ginny! I know you may not have the best opinion of me right now but can you just shut-up and let me think for a second!" shouted Hermione finally losing her cool.

Ginny taken aback by the sudden attack feel silent. Choosing to glare at the older girl instead.

"First we need to wake Mr. Livingstone up and get to his daughter; that memory it had to today's… if he is not lying then Molly will still be with the little girl. Ginny you can talk to your mother there. I do not intend to take this up in court… just talk to her; see if you can make her see sense." Said Hermione.

"Fine we'll go; all of us."

…..

**A/N**_**:**__** I'm thinking of getting a Harry Potter Tattoo when I turn 18; thoughts and suggestions on an unusual one, maybe something to do with Dramione? Enjoy and review :D**_


	45. Chapter 42: Avada Kadavra

_**Raise Me Up**_

Adrian shook the drugging drowsiness out of his eyes and looked up at the four people staring down at him; each's expression varied from downright furious and rebellious to resigned detachment. That being the red head and her husband; the other couple was holding on to each other as if the tides of this new problem would sweep them away and out of each other's arms.

The dark hired man felt a pang loneliness in his chest and then remembered his daughter. Today had gone so horribly wrong, he nearly groaned out loud.

Beatrice was in grave danger and the fact that he was not able to get the job done scared him…. Now he was petrified, truly, truly terrified for the life of his little girl.

Hermione spoke first, "We know about your daughter and that you weren't lying, we can help you but you need to do your part."

Adrian felt relief zing through him; so sweet and pure that his heart took flight for a second until he heard those dreaded words and it brought him crashing back. 'You need to do your part.'

"What do I need to do?" he asked cautiously.

"Tell us where your daughter is. We'll do the rest." Said Harry.

What did he have to lose? He'd rather that these people go storming into his house then leave Beatrice with Molly; that woman had taken leave of her senses. Adrian would never have ventured out today but Molly had shown up at his door; her wand pressed against his chest the moment he opened it and then threatened him.

So he got dressed as fast as he could to do her bidding and by that time she already had Beatrice latched on to her, just a single look from her had prevented anything he could say.

He blurted out the address and just hoped for the best.

…..

Draco, Hermione, Harry and Ginny stood around the cul-de-sac under the Disillusionment charm.

Ginny looked sulky; her husband had obviously not conceded to her whiny, desperate demands. She was angry with Harry, she was angry with all of them; Hermione could understand the pain of having to even contemplate losing your mother and she didn't blame Ginny for her hateful words or her actions.

She just felt… pity, soul-deep pity and that's when she had an epiphany… they were treating this like a death-eater attack then what it truly was, just a pained heartbroken mother trying to deal with the crisis the best way she knew how.

They couldn't go in wands blazing; that would just trigger an even more intense reaction.

"I'm going in alone…" she announced and removed the charm that made her invisible and before anyone could stop her, Hermione had already walked up the steps and to the door.

"Stay silent Draco!" hissed Harry laying his hand on his friends shoulder when he saw Draco begin to move towards his wife. "We will keep her safe like this." He said, moving covertly behind Hermione.

The door was wrenched open and the haggard face of Molly Weasley came into view; her tired face contorted into a mask of hatred when she saw Hermione; one she didn't bother to hide.

"You!" she snarled, her cold voice dripping venom, "What are you doing here?"

"Hello Mrs. Weasley." Said Hermione gently.

Molly glared at the younger girl and just moved back, "Beatrice go to your room." She commanded the small child.

Hermione followed her inside the house and said, "I just came to talk."

"Talk!?" laughed Molly hysterically, "Why should I talk to you!?" her maniacal smile still in place.

And before Hermione could do anything Mrs. Weasley pulled out her wand and yelled, "_Crucio!_"

"You bitch!" she snarled, "You want to 'talk' now!? You want to talk while my son sits in jail rotting… because of YOUR filthy lies! And you want to talk!" she snarled at the screaming girl.

Hermione felt the icy shards pierce her skin and fierce flames burst over her as the Cruciatus went on and on; never ending.

So she did the only thing she could; she screamed. Her pained, loud shrieks of agony combined with Molly's cold insane laughter created a slaughterhouse of sound.

"Please Molly!" she begged desperately, "Please stop what you're doing! Please… I'm begging you." She pleaded as she sobbed; the agony mounting to new heights.

"NEVER! That was my son! He loved you Hermione! He LOVED YOU! Why didn't you love him back! Why did you force him to do this to you?!" cried the mad woman

Draco heard her first; he didn't care what happened to the charm he just moved swiftly, running up the stairs and pushing the door open. His knew something was wrong but how wrong it was he didn't realize until he saw…

There lay his wife, writhing in the pained waves as they shook her body and above her stood Molly Weasley smirking down triumphant.

"_Sectumsempra_!" yelled Molly pointing her wand towards Hermione; she had not noticed Draco run into the room and was shocked when he pushed Hermione aside and took the full brunt of the curse.

Like an invisible dagger had slashed through his body; his entire chest was drawn with red line like rivers of flowing blood. The more malice behind the spell the better results were produced. Pushing his body back, the curse slashed his skin down to each muscle and sinew drawing forth his life's blood like it was water.

It just flowed and flowed without a pause.

"DRACO! NO!" screamed Hermione; her fear overriding her pain as she tried without avail to reach him. "Oh Draco!" sobbed his wife as he lost consciousness. "Oh please stop!" begged the desperate woman, "Please!"

"_Crucio!_" Molly repeated the curse.

Molly stood dazed for a second… this was not the plan! He was not supposed to defend his wife!

But without missing a beat she turned the wand onto Hermione, the torture was not amusing her anymore.

Now she just wanted Hermione death, justice, she lifted her wand and cried out the first of the fatal words "_AVADA_ !" Just then Harry burst through the doors and wrestled her to the ground but it was too late.

The starting of the death curse had flown from her wand and hit Hermione directly on her chest; pushing the girl backwards till she hit the wall and collapsed. Hermione felt her body gave in to the crushing darkness coming over her; her mind and her body fought and battled but it was too much, the curse was taking her.

NO! She cried out but no one could hear her, NO! There is so much left for me to say…. But I'm fading please no… stop me from sinking, stop me from sinking… stop me from leaving without telling them I love them; but I'm fading and oblivion draws closer and closer and death is knocking on my doorstep now. Stop me… stop me… stop me….

But no one to hear her pleas.

"Mum! Oh mum what did you do!?" cried Ginny as she followed her husband and looked over the carnage of the room. Molly had destroyed it with her fury; Ginny ran towards her but was stopped by Harry who stood in front his wife; blocking her approach like a wall of fury.

"You did this to them!? What is wrong with you Molly?!" he yelled.

She just gave Ginny a smile full of satisfaction, ignoring Harry and said in a light voice, "I saved your brother darling! Aren't you happy now!?" and then Molly kicked Harry and escaped from him.

Her wand still clutched safely in her hands.

"Mother!" sobbed Ginny, "Please Mum stop this please! I love you! I love you! Don't do this to! I LOVE YOU!" she shrieked; gut wrenching wails clawing through her throat.

Before anyone had time to stop her she just gave them a peaceful smile and pointed the wand to her own temple and muttered, "Tell Ron I love and remember Ginny I love you so very much, tell your father I will miss him. I am going to my Fred now."

"_Avada Kadavra_."

And collapsed on the ground… dead.

Gone… dead… death had just collected his payment from his willing sacrifice and he whisked her away carrying her to the only place she could be happy now.

…..

_**A/N:**__** Please review!**_


	46. Chapter 43: Walking Away

_**Raise Me Up**_

Ginny packed her bags hurriedly; throwing in clothes haphazardly, she didn't think… she just had to keep her hands moving. She was done… there was no way she could live like this anymore. Her mind kept flashing back to the time her mother had turned the wand onto herself. What hurt and baffled her the most was the serene expression on her face.

How could she! She took the easy way out by taking her life, leaving Ginny alone.

Harry walked in and saw his wife; he had expected this but it still twisted like a knife inside his chest.

"You'll tell James?" said Ginny without looking up.

"No."

"What..!? What do you mean no!?" said the red-head frantically.

"I mean; tell him yourself why you're leaving…" said Harry tiredly, sitting down and rubbing his eyes behind his glasses.

"When did you become so cruel?!" Ginny cried out; the clothes in her hands dropping.

"The same moment you became a coward and decided to run…" said Harry coldly. "Just go Ginny… I'm tired and I don't have time for your games and riddles. But I won't tell James why his mother left without saying goodbye. You don't get to walk away and leave the hard part for me."

"I just need a break…" said the woman desperately.

"Well you don't get a break okay! Marriage and family is not something you can just leave behind and forget, once your gone Ginny; don't bother coming back because I will never… never forgive you. Marriage is about working together; you can't run away at the first sign of trouble! And if you do want to run… then don't look back, so that we… me and James can move forward… with or without you." Harry thundered furiously, "Merlin you don't think this drama exhausts me! I am sick and tired and hanging by a thread but there is small child out there, confused and terrified because he doesn't know where his parents are, he doesn't understand that they are laying on a hospital bed battling for their lives, his parents didn't pick this fate. You think Hermione would have ever done what she did back in that house if she knew she would be leaving Scorpius behind as an orphan? She believes the best in people… even people who she knows will hurt her and you want to walk away because you're too weak to handle this?!" he turned away disgusted.

"Just go, I don't think there is anything I can say that will make you stay. So just leave." He said massaging his temples.

Ginny looked at her husband sadly; she still loved him but she needed to get away; he didn't understand. Harry was used to playing through the pain since a young age, for Ginny it was simply too much. He was too much…

Harry heard his wife walk out the door and to their son's bedroom down the hall. He couldn't bear to listen what lies she was going to concoct for the little boy. So he just looked out of his window and down at the muggle street.

Men and women walked oblivious, bright lights and loud sounds now fell on hollow ears and blind eyes. Harry always lost himself in the places and faces to try and forget his problems but it didn't help, not today. The looked so remote and detached, oblivious to his inner turmoil. This was the curse of his childhood; he was Harry Potter, he couldn't run away and escape no matter how many nightmares plagued him or shadows threatened to consume him. He had to be strong, be brave, be honest, the burden of having people expect only to see the best from you got to him sometimes and he cursed his wretched birth.

He spent the first few years of his life stuck in an unloving, cold prison and now finally… finally when he had his happiness and his peace Ginny was going to rip it away from him. And here he was again stuck in a life that brought him no happiness.

Hermione and Draco were in Saint Mungo's, both critical, both on the verge of death. He could not even begin to imagine how hard it was for Scorpius; the baby didn't understand what was happening around him.

Minutes later he heard a tentative knock on his door and opened it to find James looking miserable in his rumpled golden snitch pajamas.

"Mama's gone daddy." He said sadly; his brown eyes downcast as he looked at his father from behind his own round spectacles. "I thought maybe I could sleep with you tonight. We'll keep each other company." Said the little boy hopefully.

Harry felt his heart clench at the misery in his son's eyes and he cursed Ginny for putting it there.

"Sure little man; come in. You can sleep with daddy tonight." Harry said gently, picking up his son's slight body and depositing him onto the bed.

"Can you tell me a story? Maybe how you and Mama got married?" said the child.

Harry felt the pain in his chest intensify; like a hot poker stabbing his heart. Not tonight, he couldn't bear to remember that tonight.

"Not now son. It's getting late. How about we just listen to some music, that'll help you fall asleep you think?"

The boy just nodded, he understood that his father didn't want to talk about his mother. But mummies and daddies don't fall out of love; he consoled himself with that innocent thought. He knew his mummy would be back, she loved James and daddy…

Harry just sat in the dark bedroom rocking his son to sleep as he listened to the haunting voices of Nina Simone and Ella Fitzgerald. He never thought this would happen… that Ginny would fall out of love with him. They were supposed to stay together forever. Like in the fairy tales…

But right now all he felt was mind numbing pain, he had something so precious… until it was ripped away from him without warning and he was left here in the darkness; just wandering. The cruel irony of life.

Just a hollow man was left of him now; Ginny had taken both his heart and his soul and destructed his capacity to love anymore.

….

There is a pain - so utter -  
It swallows substance up -  
Then covers the Abyss with Trance -  
So Memory can step  
Around - across - upon it -  
As one within a Swoon -  
Goes safely - where an open eye -  
Would drop Him - Bone by Bone.

_**A/N: Reviews please : )**_


	47. Chapter 44: First Words

_**Raise Me Up**_

Scorpius was restless, all day Narcissa had tried to distract him but it wasn't working. He had never been away from Draco for so long and he was beginning to act out. Narcissa was tired; the last few nights the little boy had thrown tantrums all of which resulted in night long insomnia.

She was exhausted and worried, scratch that she wasn't worried she was terrified. Harry had told her what had happened, Draco she was sure would recover but Hermione… she could remain in a coma for the rest of her life.

Scorpius screwed up his face in concentration; Narcissa braced herself for another one of his tantrums but he stayed silent.

Looking at her with fierce control on his little face he finally blurted out, "Mamma, Dadda?" he asked in a little, lisping voice dripping with sadness and desolation.

Any other day this would have made her jump with joy because Scorpius was responding well to speech therapy but today it broke her heart.

"Mamma and Dadda are in the hospital baby boy. They'll be back soon." Said Narcissa, cringing when she heard the lie leave her lips.

The little boy scowled, making Narcissa catch her breath because he looked exactly like he father when he did that. She knew he didn't understand what she said but he knew from the tone of it that it wasn't good.

"Mamma, Dadda!?" he said again, more insistent now. He toddled closer to his grandmother and tugged on her skirt.

"No baby, your Mamma and Daddy aren't here..." said Narcissa swallowing painfully as she watched her grandsons eyes fill with tears.

The baby shrieked angrily and began to pound on floor with his little fists. Tears of frustration made their way out of Narcissa's eyes as she tried without avail to calm him down. But Scorpius was inconsolable; he sobbed and sobbed until his little face was red and he was breathing in short, hiccuping bursts.

Frankly she wanted to join the little boy but that was not the solution. Just as she was about to carry the child to bed she heard a knock on her door and went to open it.

Outside stood Astoria, Narcissa was about to slam the door on her face but the girl's voice stopped her, "Wait! Please! I'm here because I heard about what happened to Hermione!" said Astoria, "You don't have to let me in but I just wanted to tell you that I will help you in the case against Ron Weasley even if she doesn't wake up!"

"And why would you do that?" said Narcissa suspiciously.

"She helped me when I was in need." Said Astoria simply, "I want to repay her kindness. I already visited Blaise Zabini and told him that I would testify and I wanted to come tell you."

"Why?"

"Well in rehab we have this twelve step program and one of the steps is to make amends and apologize to those who you hurt and Draco and Scorpius were the ones who suffered the most because of my addiction so I am going to try and do right by them. I know it is going to take a lot for me to gain their trust again but I'm willing and all this was with Hermione's help. She's too kind, she saw the best in me and now I want to help her by putting Ron where he belongs." Said Astoria sincerely.

Narcissa looked over her former daughter- in- law; she looked different, more peaceful. She no more had that restless, caged look in her eyes anymore. Dressed simply in a plain skirt and cotton top she looked a million miles away from the wealthy socialite caked in makeup and dressed in haut-couture that she was a few years ago.

Astoria had started to look like herself again, now almost two months sober the difference showed. Her long blonde hair; previously limp and dry had grown out into golden waves that fell over her shoulders in a haphazard mess, her bright eyes were clear from the drug haze and her pale skin was smooth and unblemished and free of makeup.

She looked better, she felt better and she was ready to try and reverse the damage she had caused, ready to take responsibility.

If Hermione could have extended a hand of friendship then so could Narcissa, "Would you like to come in?" asked the older witch hesitantly.

Astoria smiled and nodded.

….

Narcissa sat opposite Astoria and marveled at the change in the girl, it was truly shocking how just a little care could make such a big difference to someone. Hermione had bothered to care and that's why Astoria was sitting in front of Narcissa now, casually discussing her time in rehabilitation.

"So where are you living now?" asked Narcissa.

"I'm taking it slowly; when I went and met Blaise I mentioned how I had no place to live so he told me about Lavender Brown; she's testifying too. He told me that she had been looking for a roommate so I went and saw her and we worked out an arrangement. I got a job too; I work as a waitress in this small muggle café around the corner of the apartment. It doesn't pay very well and I'm still learning how but it's a start." Smiled Astoria.

"Well I'm happy for you but I am curious how did Hermione help you?" asked Narcissa.

"She saved my life; if it wasn't for her I would be lying in a ditch somewhere… dead or I would have over dosed. I met her in Saint. Mungos and she gave me a second chance, she didn't judge me and even when it looked like I could never give up the drugs she was still there; holding my hand, guiding me out of the blackness. She called it an illness and each time since then whenever I felt the urge I call her and she talks me out of it. I wouldn't be alive right now if it wasn't for her I owe her my life and that's why I want to help her, so do I have your permission?"

"Yes, yes you do and Astoria… I'm happy for you." Narcissa said gently clasping the younger girls hand in her own.

"I'll leave now; my shift at the café starts in an hour; it was really nice seeing you Narcissa." Astoria said, a genuine smile lighting up her once again beautiful face and then she left.

It was a wonder marveled Narcissa, how many people's lives Hermione had touched. Loyalty from a Slytherin was a rare thing indeed, just like loving another woman's child as your own was. She was truly a wonderful woman… her daughter-in-law.

She decided to take Scorpius to see his parents today… it would do the little boy some good… she hoped.

…

Narcissa walked into Saint. Mungo's waiting room carrying her grandson in her arms, he was cranky and furious and she didn't blame him. This was not a pleasant experience for the small boy but she knew it would pacify him to see his parents even if it was just for a short time.

Suddenly she heard her name being called out and turned.

"Mrs. Malfoy?" asked the receptionist looking at the witch from behind her glasses.

"Yes?" said Narcissa dreading bad news.

"I have some good news for you. We were just about to contact you but its good that you're here now, your son is awake…."

"What about my daughter-in-law?" said Narcissa cautiously, her heart dropping to her womb when the woman shook her head sadly.

"Thank you." She breathed painfully, knowing that Draco would be crushed to find that he was awake and his wife wasn't, "Can I see him now?"

The lady nodded and went back to work.

Narcissa walked down the sterile hallway to the room that housed her son and pushed it open.

Draco made a lonely picture; he looked so sad and agonized, lost in his thoughts. He was pale and weak but really it was the expression on his face that crushed her.

"You know they said that she could remain in a coma forever." He said sadly without looking away from the window, "How am I going to survive mum?" he said his voice tormented and savage. "Why does this happen to us, why does she keep getting taken away from me. I can't bear it anymore! I can't!" he swallowed painfully.

"Oh Draco…" sighed his mother, "Love is always hard son especially when you love a woman who gives her heart freely to others. It is bound to get hurt."

"How can I stop her from getting hurt? How can I protect her!?" he cursed angrily, "HOW!?"

Before Narcissa could say anything Scorpius woke up and looked at his father and gave a delighted shriek, "Dadda!" he cried happily.

Like the sun breaking out of the clouds Draco's smile lit up the room when he turned to look at his son, "Hello there…" he said reaching from the little boy, "Did you just say what I think you said baby?" Draco said to Scorpius taking him in his lap and flicking his little nose.

Narcissa was glad that the baby had distracted him because suddenly she was finding it too hard to breathe past the lump of fear in her throat.

"Mum! Did he just…" said Draco in awe.

"He did…" confirmed Narcissa.

"Would you look at that; my big, smart boy!" said Draco proudly kissing the top of his son's head, "I'm so proud of you Scorpius! Just wait till your mother wakes up, she's going to be so happy! Daddy is so proud of you baby boy, my angel." He said cuddling his closer. "Now the only thing left is for your mum to wake up." he said sadly

"Mamma!?" said the little boy excitedly; looking around for her.

"Not yet baby, you can see her when she's out of intensive care." Said his father gently. He hugged his son tightly to his chest breathing in his familiar scent and feeling his little heart beat gently against his chest, feeling his downy, soft hair tickle his face.

It gave him comfort… The only comfort he could bear.

…

"Hello sweetheart." Said Draco gently, holding his wife's limp hand as she lay on the bed. She looked so small and delicate on the huge white bed that it broke his heart.

"I miss you and so does Scorpius, mum and he came to see me today and he cried and I couldn't get him to stop. That's never happened before you know, he misses you so much, he wants his mother… he told me. He said his first words today Hermione! You would have been so proud of him; he called me Dadda and you Mamma. He knew Hermione! He knows who we are! And I just wish you would wake up so that you could hear him say it! He is so… so… perfect. I was so proud and you! You would have cried happy tears if you saw him today angel. God! It hurts so much without you… please wake up my love because I don't think I can do without you anymore. Not now not ever. Harry was here today telling you how he wished he was in your place when you went into that house, I love you so much, there are people waiting for you to wake up desperately. I'm not the only one. And I'm so sorry I couldn't protect you, I couldn't save you from this…. I can never forgive myself for letting you go into that house alone. You see the best in people and look where it landed us but I wouldn't want you to change. You are perfect and I don't deserve you, It was my job to see that you never got hurt…. I made a vow and I broke it and I hope against hope that you will forgive me. " He said quietly, kissing his wife's hand fervently, his tears dripping down onto her soft skin.

"Please my love…. Please…"

…..

_**A/N:**_ _**Reviews Please :D and there is nothing like some Ginny bashing to get everyone together is there? :P. God This chapter made me cry when I read through it, so sorry for any mistakes my eyes were too blurred to see my laptop screen**_, **Don't forget to review!**


	48. Chapter 45: Losing Something Precious

_**Raise Me Up**_

Draco was reading to Hermione the next day, today they were bringing Scorpius in to meet her and Draco was hoping she would wake up before they brought the little boy inside.

She had been in this comatose state for more than a week now and the odds were looking bleaker and bleaker with each passing day. It wasn't just that she had been hit by a dangerous spell, if this had been any other time she would have woken up promptly the healers had assured Draco, it was just that her body was under a lot of stress already because of her torture so it had shut down to try and protect itself. There was something else that the healers had discovered that they were not telling him yet, something that had come up in their later tests.

He put down the book and gazed at his wife, she looked so peaceful… like she was sleeping, she had to wake up soon because the date of the trial was growing closer and closer and Blaise had just told Draco that Ron's lawyer had managed to get him out on bail.

Suddenly a soft voice called out to him.

"Mr. Malfoy, can we talk to you?" came one nurse's soft voice. Draco turned and looked at the woman, her usually serene face was white… Draco felt his heart begin to thump with fear, the nurse had a look of shock on her face and that was never a good sign.

"Mr. Malfoy there are some things that have come up in our tests and I'm sorry to ask but I need to know when the last time you had intercourse with your wife was?" asked the healer waiting for him outside the door.

"Six maybe seven days… how is that relevant?" Draco said distractedly

"Sir, do you by any chance know when was the last time your wife had her cycles?"

"No, no I'm sorry I have no idea." Said Draco worriedly.

"Sir, I think your wife was pregnant when she went into that house, the baby must have been conceived recently that's why she was not showing any symptoms. We only caught it in one of our extensive tests… The egg was fertilized the first time you had intercourse, I assume you didn't use protection. Over the past week and a half before your wife went into a coma it passed through her Fallopian Tube and embedded it's self into her uterine wall. Most of the symptoms of pregnancy do not occur until four to six weeks, other than maybe tender breasts. Her body had yet to start producing hormone hCG which is the cause of symptoms like nausea, morning sickness etc. That's why I don't think even she knew." said the healer softly.

"What do you mean she was pregnant?!" said Draco panicked, "Wha… What!? What happened!?" he nearly yelled.

"Sir we need you to calm down…" said the nurse soothingly.

"How am I supposed to calm down when you tell me something like that!?" said Draco furiously. "The baby was conceived the same night she lost her virginity, how is that even possible?"

"The body starts to ovulate fourteen maybe fifteen days before periods begin and the fact that you didn't use protection just sped up the process."

"Mr. Malfoy; the fetus was still very, very young and it couldn't bear the strain on its mothers body. I'm so sorry to be the one to tell you this…. I truly am…" Said the healer gently, laying a hand on Draco shoulder…

Draco looked up dazed…. "You're telling me that my baby… MY BABY…! is dead, that it never got a chance to live and now my wife is on the verge of death!" his voice came out hoarse.

"I'm so sorry to be the one to tell you this… but I think your wife's body understood it was losing the child that's why it shut down. Miscarriage is very common but it puts a great deal of stress on both the body and the psyche of the mother."

Draco couldn't hear over the roaring in his ears, his child…. His baby… dead before it even had a chance to live, would it have been a boy or a girl…. Questions kept jumping into his head, torturing him.

"I can't breathe…" he muttered gasping, "I…I … I can't breathe!"

"I need to go…. I NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE!" he roared pushing the healer out of the way he ran towards the exit, his breaths coming in short, sharp gasps.

His and Hermione's child…. Their baby was dead… dead…

He couldn't breathe; he didn't stop until he was far away from the antiseptic smell of the hospital room. When he finally stopped, he began coughing harshly he rested his hands on his knees.

This was their entire fault! He thought savagely, if it wasn't for Weasley his wife would be awake and living and so would his child! It was all their fault, he hated Ron and Molly Weasley….

Hermione, what was Hermione going to do when she woke up? God! She would feel so guilty and Draco couldn't bear to see her go through that.

There was only one way to end all of this…

The only way Hermione would ever be free…

The only way his family would ever be free…

He needed to kill Ron Weasley…

…..

_**A/N:**_ _**So sorry for the short chapter… :D, Do review! Oh and I know most of you are wondering when Hermione is going to wake up; it's in the next chapter.**_

_**2) So what do we think of Harry X Luna/ Harry X Pansy? Pick your choice and leave it behind in the review. **_

_**I'll see ya'll in a few day.**_

_**Caio :D **_


	49. Chapter 46: Dark Draco

_**Raise Me Up**_

"Yes." Confirmed Draco to the guard, "I do have an appointment with Ronald Weasley before he is released, I made it last night."

"Alright then Mr. Malfoy come right through, we'll get you a name tag and an identification parchment and then you can go see him." Said the guard, motioning Draco to through.

Draco nodded politely and strode into the long hallway to the last cell where Ron was.

Ron sat still, unmoving until he turned to look at Draco, his eyes were blank, no emotions, nothing… his lips curled into psychotic smile that sent shivers down Draco's back he just continued to stare at him with his cold, lifeless eyes.

"Coming to wish me luck Malfoy?" he mocked softly. "Or have you come here to do something that'll get you thrown into Azkaban?" he sing-songed tauntingly.

Draco stalked into the cell, not rising to Ron's taunts and threw down some papers on the table.

Ron gave him a quizzical look, "What are these!?" he demanded.

"This is my wife…" said Draco coldly, holding up a picture of Hermione laying on the hospital bed, "That is what YOU did to her… Shut up..." he said savagely when he saw Ron was about to speak, "Just shut the hell up, because I am going to show you something even more gruesome that your family did to me and my wife…. Something so precious that you took from us…"

"Look you can't harass me here." Ron said getting up.

"SIT THE FUCK DOWN YOU BASTARD!" growled Draco savagely, "You will bloody listen to me…" he said in such a low and cold voice that Ron felt chills of fear run up his back.

"Do you know what this is?" said Draco, throwing a picture carelessly onto Ron's face.

"It's an ultra sound" said Ron, frowning curiously.

"Yes, it's an ultra sound of a fetus. A three week old fetus." Said Draco, his voice lowering in pitch, "My child…. Hermione and my baby didn't even grow to this stage because your mother… your PSYCHOTIC MANIAC of a mother took them away from me! MY WIFE AND CHILD! Scorpius's little brother or sister because of you! You took everything from me at one point or another, first it was Scorpius, then Hermione and now you've killed my child… and if Hermione doesn't wake up …" he threatened.

"Are you done?" said Ron, feeling chilled at the cold hatred in Draco's eyes.

"Did you fail to understand me the first time Weasley…? I said sit down…. I have a few things to show you. You loved Hermione didn't you? Loved her with all your heart and soul?" Draco mocked him, taking a seat opposite him, "I bet it really hurt when you heard she got married to me? Oh what is that old adage about dragons never changing their scales….? There is another saying that I'd best make you familiar with; it goes this way…. When a dragon mates, he mates for life and when something or someone wishes to harm the dragons mate…. The dragon crushes it, takes it into its claws and rips it apart as mercilessly as you ripped my wife apart and I will see to it that I crush you in a way that you will never… never be able to harm someone innocent ever again …. and you can try and hide but I will find you and I will rip you apart like the scum you are…"

Picking up another picture he threw it in Ron's face, "You liked her in chains did you? Did it turn your pathetic little dick on? Make you hard? Why is that? Because you knew that you could never get a woman yourself that's why you needed to kidnap one?! Huh! Is that the reason?!"

"NO!" yelled Ron getting up furiously.

"What's the matter Weasley…." Taunted Draco getting up and circling the table, stopping near Ron and hissing into his ear, "Hitting to close to home am I?"

Ron was breathing hard now as he looked at the pictures of Hermione in the hospital, "I can get anyone I want… anytime!" he smirked, "I'm a war hero!"

"You're nothing but a bloody drunkard trying to stretch out your glory days because you know no woman will give two hoots about your disgusting whore sickness infested body, your degenerate gambling, your excessive drinking if you didn't have the 'I saved the world and sacrificed myself' bullshit card. Do you want me to continue?" growled Draco.

"You see this…?" Draco snarled throwing another picture down on the table, "That's your mother…. YOUR MOTHER you scumbag! Who has…. let me remind you, already lost one child. She was so upset by the fact that she could lose another one she went crazy and attacked my wife; tortured her until Hermione's body was so weak that it could do nothing but shut down to protect itself and in her womb was our child conceived on the night of our wedding, our 'wedding night baby' an infant that didn't get a chance to grow…. Because your mother killed it! And then she killed herself…. Just picked up her wand, told Ginny to tell you that she loves you and killed herself… you're sitting here so smug and pleased. DO YOU EVEN CARE ABOUT HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE SUFFRED BECAUSE OF YOU!?" Draco yelled at him across the table.

"Do you know what happens when you're Crucioed…?" Draco continued in his soft hissing voice, "It's like flames of hell fire are trying to escape your skin and burn you alive. You're already burning from the inside… writhing… dying, getting crushed. It feels like you can't breathe because someone has pressed your throat closed, like you can't cry out because your mouth is clamped by invisible hands and your ears ring with demon laughter and even though you keep your eyes open you can't see because the pain makes you blind in ways that magic simply cannot. Like hot pokers are being stabbed into each part of your body and are slowly and meticulously ripped out with malicious slowness, like each of your limbs is getting stampede upon by a thousand bulls. Do you know what that's like? NO?! BUT MY WIFE DOES! Because she was Crucioed by YOUR MOTHER again and again and again and again until all she could do was scream, agonizing screams of bitter pain, again and again…. But why do you care, you like to hear women scream in PAIN! Don't you!?" he said stalking closer and closer to the red-head; his fury so bright and hot that Ron felt like he had been burnt.

"This is karma, your bitch of a wife deserved all she got…" whispered Ron.

That was a mistake….

Draco's eyes blazed with such hate and disgust that Ron felt himself shrinking away from his fury…

"Karma…? So you think she deserved it?" Draco said in such a deceptively soft voice that Ron almost didn't hear him. It was like ice dripped of each word, like a stalactite; cold and hard coming to stab Ron in his heart… "Hermione was everything good and beautiful about this world and I don't just say this because I'm her husband I say this because there are thousands if not millions of lives that she has touched all around the world. That woman is an icon for strength and loyalty and integrity. She was loyal enough to keep your filthy secret from other people, she had enough strength to leave you finally and she had enough integrity not to follow you around and hamper every chance you got at happiness. If she is lost to this world frankly it's not just a loss for me, it's a loss for human kind because people like you… we have many, to many. Who think that just because you did something great once upon a time that, that great deed is going protect you from any and all bullshit you do. Reality check my friend …. Life doesn't work that way! My wife deserved nothing okay NOTHING of what you did to her! A real man doesn't stalk a lady after she refuses him, a real man doesn't need to kidnap a lady and a real man OWNS UP TO THE RESPONISBILITY OF HIS ACTIONS! YOU BLOODY FUCKING COWARD!" Draco's enraged voice pounded against Ron's overwhelmed brain.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO SAY!?" yelled Ron, finally snapping, "THAT I'M SORRY!? Well… I'M NOT! I'm happy I did it… to her and each disobedient bitch that will ever come my way! What are you going to do about it you death-eater!? You can't stop me… I'm RON WEASLEY!"

"Is that what you thought when they told you that your mother killer herself… that she was being a 'good mother, an obedient wife'? Gods, you sicken me…" said Draco disgustedly.

"I hope death was not too harsh on your mother; someone told me that the killing curse is ten times worse than the Cruciatus only this time you never wake up. I guess you thought it was your mothers 'duty' to get stabbed and ripped apart by demons so that you! The prodigal son survives!" Draco smirked sarcastically, his caustic voice like a thousand pins stabbing Ron.

"Beware of the dragon Weasley, you never know when I might just BURN you…" Draco said softly, getting out of the chair he was in and walking to the door.

"Where are you going?" demanded Ron.

"I have what I came here for and I no longer wish to spend any more time in your disgusting presence." Draco said carelessly and walked out…

* * *

_**A/N: 1) Dark Draco sends shivers of lust down my body :P.**_

_**2) DO REVIEWW**_

_**3) Harry and Luna are the winners, I agree with one reviewer when she said that Harry needs a calming influence in his life post Ginny and I think that fits Luna to a tee. **_

_**Don't forget to leave behind your thoughts and feelings : )**_


	50. Chapter 47: Memory

_**A/N:**_ _**Can I just say how pleased I am, 606 and counting followers, 286 and counting favorites, 840 and counting reviews , truly I am so grateful for all of you and your lovely comments : ) This story has gained much more of a response then I expected. So sorry for the short chapter but do review :D **_

_**Thank you**_

_**Xoxox**_

_**Urvashi **_

…_**.**_

_**Raise Me Up **_

Hermione awoke slowly, feeling off balance and queasy; she had no recognition of where she was or what she was doing here, she had no memory of this place, her mind was blank, like a slate wiped clean only there seemed to be this niggling voice at the back of her head that told her she was missing a big chunk of her memory. She opened her mouth to call out but felt her voice getting choked back inside her throat; no more than a squeak came out. She tried again only to find that her throat was unbearably dry and parched.

Gingerly she swung herself to the side of the bed and got up, testing her equilibrium pleased to see that she was not feeling overly faint, she walked to the door of the room. This was beyond a doubt the strangest place Hermione had ever been in she thought curiously as she pushed the door open and walked out, there were so many people hurrying to and fro in such a rush that they didn't even see her.

They had on the strangest outfits Hermione had ever seen, billowing green and blue robes much like the scrubs her parents wore in their clinic. Surely this couldn't be…? Hermione wondered if she was in a hospital of some kind but there seemed to be no medical equipment, no crash carts or drugs cabinets, not even so much as an Ambu bag as far as her eyes could see. Maybe her parents were close by she thought, they would explain all this to her.

"Child what are you doing out of bed?" one sweet faced nurse who looked a lot like Hermione's grandmother asked when she saw the girl wandering like a lost soul in the corridor.

"Are you a nurse?" Hermione said confused.

The woman just laughed, her large body shaking along with her silver curls with her mirth, "Yes you could call me that, now what room are you in dear?" she said sweetly.

Hermione looked around lost, "I don't really know…" she said anxiously, "What is this place? Where am I? Can you bring my parents to me, I'm sure they can explain this whole thing?"

"Calm down now dear; I'm sure your parents are anxious to see you. You're perfectly safe here, this is Saint. Mungo's, the best hospital for out kind." Soothed the silver hair nurse leading Hermione down the hallway she had first come from "Is this where you came from dear?" she asked when she saw Hermione begin to recognize the familiar area.

"I… I think so…." She said unsurely, her nervous eyes darting from left to right trying to orient herself.

"Mildred… Millie! Millie!" called the nurse who was holding Hermione's hand and waved to another woman in billowing purple scrubs, "Millie listen I found this one wandering around in the hallways, is she one of yours?"

Mildred looked over Hermione carefully and then shook her head, "Sorry Agnes, she's not from the Psych ward; I've never seen her before. What's your name dear?" she asked kindly.

Hermione was confused enough not to take offence when they assumed she was a mental patient, "I'm Hermione…. Hermione Granger… I won't ask for more of your time… it's just … I'm looking for my parents, if you could guide me to them I would be really grateful!" she said twisting her hands anxiously, looking up and down the hallway for any sign of her parents.

In doing that she didn't hear Mildred's and Agnes's sharp intake of breathe, "Hermione Granger you say dear?" said the older one nervously now.

"Yes, Hermione Granger." She replied, still preoccupied.

"Come along dear; I know where your room is. I'll ask the healer and nurse to come to you immediately." Said Agnes gently, leading the confused girl back to her room.

Hermione sat back down in the same place that she had first left and waited for someone to come and get her or to at least tell her what was going on because she didn't have the foggiest idea and it was beginning to feel like she had fallen into a B grade movie and she wasn't liking it one bit.

"Hello Hermione, my name is Carlton and I'm your healer." Came a soft voice from behind her, Hermione looked up to see a young man who had just entered the room dressed in the same billowing scrubs she had seen the nurses in, except his were green.

"Healer?" she said confused, "Is this one of those alternate healing place or something because to tell you the truth I'm fine with allopathic medicine and cutting my body open during surgery. I don't really believe in all your crystals and herbs and stuff. No offence." She said in a rush, getting impatient now.

"Cutting people open!" said the healer appalled, "We don't do those kinds of things here, but you know that. You interned with us on and off during your university months to gain experience."

"I'm sorry but when did I work here?! And university?! What are you talking about?! What is this place where am I?! Can you please bring me my parents, I need to see them?" Hermione cried out, feeling truly scared now.

"Hermione what is the last thing you remember?" said the healer suddenly in a quiet, ominous voice.

"Going shopping with my parents, why?"

"Do you not remember getting married, getting attacked, your son, your husband!" the healer said anxiously.

At the same moment Draco rushed into the room, receiving the information that his wife had awoken only to be stunned senseless when Hermione just turned her confused gaze onto him and asked in her soft voice, "Who are you?"

….

_**Don't forget to review! **_


	51. Chapter 48: Guilty

_**A/N:**_

**Muhahaha! **

_**I am so evil :D but to be honest it was my muse who provoked this new difficulty, he just popped into my head and well…. I couldn't stop him *Bad, Bad Draconis the Greek God, I should spank you for this grrrrr ;) * anyway I am as stumped as you guys, but I'll find a way to get this to work :P as I always do so read on and review because…. Hell do you really need a reason? ;) **_

…

_**Raise Me Up**_

"I have a theory Mr. Malfoy; as to why your wife has lost her memories. I came upon it while conversing with one of my muggle collogues who works in Chelsea Presbyterian, it's called Post-Traumatic Amnesia; when your wife was hit by the first spell she fell backwards and her skull cracked against the floor thus causing massive whiplash. The concussion she received is the culprit for her memory loss; though we healed the wound we couldn't do much about the amnesia. The extent of the period covered by the amnesia is related to the degree of injury and may give an indication of the prognosis for recovery of other functions depending on that her amnesia could either disappear or become permanent or either anterograde, retrograde, or mixed type though that is highly unlikely because Traumatic amnesia is more often than not transient. Her Cerebral Cortex with contains her Temporal Lobe will soon regain its balance and her long term memories will return and then her Hippocampus will right itself which will bring back all her recent memories. So I would give her some time to recover and then try and jog her memory." Said the healer with a helpful smile.

Draco was relieved to hear the word 'temporary' because he was on the verge of picking up his wand and hexing the young healer. This was good news, well as good as it was going to get. At least there was an explanation to Hermione's sudden, heart-breaking memory loss. Draco sighed and ran a hand though his unruly blond hair; he had been here since last night but not entered Hermione's room after yesterday's debacle. Right now she was asleep under sedation; she had not taken the new that her parents weren't going to come to well. Scorpius was in his little car seat beside Draco, fast asleep. When Hermione awoke he would take the tot in and see if it jogged her memory some….

Other than that there wasn't much he or anyone else could do….

…..

Claudia felt guilty for using Blaise, yesterday frustrated and angry he had vented to her. Telling her how Hermione Granger was now in the hospital and in a coma. Immediately she had reported back to Andrea who had devised a clever plan that would make sure that Hermione Granger was not able to testify. She had convinced Claudia to go to Saint. Mungo's and to Obliviate Hermione.

She felt dirty but there wasn't much she could do; the money that she was getting paid was too good, she had paid of most of her debts by now and if she didn't continue she might just end up on the street, her father's gambling debts were still left to be paid so she just had to stay a little while longer. Claudia felt so guilty after sneaking into Hermione's room and doing away with her memory….

She sank down onto her knees and pressed her face into her hands…

When had she sunk down to this?

When had she thought it was okay to play this dirty to get a guilty man out of jail?

How was she going to live with herself?

…

**Hello again, I know this chapter is short and crappy but it is a filler that being said today is the 13****th**** of September and today justice was served to the Delhi gang-rape victim and though she is no longer alive it is a great honor to her memory that the men who treated her like an animal will now be treated like the disgusting, vile, filthy creatures they are. They received the death-sentence today and it is a day to be noted for all of woman kind. Those of you from other countries; I would really like it if you could read about the December Delhi Gang-Rape because it was a crime against humanity. This is a message I want to send out to all of you, to lend a hand because there is so much darkness in the world. Any and all sexual abuse victims, rape victims I salute you for standing so brave in a storm of blackness. My blessings to the soul of the girl who suffered and my blessings to all the women who have ever gone through this kind of trauma… you are strong and beautiful and the world has a lot to learn from your strength. To those of you who think this is a useless waste of your time I implore you to read about the girl in question.**

**That is all, Thank you.**

**Urvashi **


	52. Chapter 49: Don't Walk Away

_**Raise Me Up**_

_**A week later ….**_

Hermione had regained most of her memories; thank Merlin for that but the growing sense of disquiet was following her everywhere. A black cloud was approaching, the trial…

Today was the first day in court, Blaise had managed a stay order until Hermione was fully recovered but now she had to do what she had been dreading since escaping him…. Meeting Ron… today was the first day she was going to see him after what he did to her. There was a hollow feeling in her belly and her hands kept opening and closing; clenching into fists like she was trying to control her fear. As she looked out of the window she felt restless, it was three in the night and both Draco and Scorpius were fast asleep but Hermione couldn't bring herself to close her eyes because every time she did she saw Ron's smirking face taunting her, Ginny disgust, Molly's fierce anger and it was like a punch to the gut; hard and merciless.

She could think of no better time to tell Draco about Astoria, she decided it would be this morning. But till then Hermione had to keep a check on herself because she knew that one slip would send her straight looking for a bottle of liquor to numb out these unpleasant thoughts.

She was exhausted; she wanted this to be over. Merlin knew it had gone on long enough…. It was time he was put away in a cage like the animal he was. Depraved, mongrel abusers deserved cruel, merciless punishment.

Honestly she didn't know where and what had gone wrong that he had turned out like this. Hermione had hoped that he would redeem himself, that there had to be some basic humanity left in him.

She would have forgiven him… she still felt like that, she had to be the bigger person to be the one who took the first step. It was not in her nature to be vengeful and to hold grudges, she may never look at Ron the same way, never feel what she once felt for him but she could forgive him because it was the decent thing to do, the right thing… maybe sometimes all that's needed to change a person is a little care, she didn't want Scorpius to grow up in a world so full of deceit and hate, she wanted to show him that sometimes a little faith was all that was needed. So many bad things in the world could be avoided if people just forgave sometimes or if they swallowed their egos or if they just showed a little kindness to someone.

Hermione was a firm believer in the old adage, 'To live a fulfilled life one must do a good deed a day.' This could be her random act of kindness; her way of thanking the universe for giving her in bounty what she so desired… a loving family. It was true that life had not always been kind to her but she could not bear to pass on that kind of bitterness to her son. Ron would go to jail, he would suffer there and she had no reason to not forgive him.

Her mind settled and peaceful she made her way back to her and Draco's bedroom; the moonlight filtered down from the thin curtains and highlighted her beloved husband's face in comforting repose.

He had been through so much with her she thought gently running her hand through his springy blond hair; he had stuck by her in even the most trying of times.

There were times when she had expected him to leave her and let her fall flat on her face but he had stood by her.

She always doubted that Draco could change, he had been dealt a bad hand early in life and it was ignorance for people who thought that just because he was rich he had no right to be unhappy. Money is never enough, especially when you have a cold and abusive father and a mother who is so terrified to show affection to her son whilst his father is around lest she get beaten for her insubordination.

If someone had asked her a few years back if Draco Malfoy could ever accept a child of his who was less than perfect she would have answered in the most negative fashion but Draco had changed, Scorpius had changed him, just as the little boy had changed her.

He was strongly perceptive, it was like Scorpius instantly knew if there was tension or bad vibes in the room. It was something like a sixth sense; since he couldn't communicate with them through his words he did so through his actions. Hermione never made the mistake of believing that just because Scorpius was challenged he didn't understand what was happening around him.

That made this even more important. She needed to teach Scorpius that nothing was solved by all this anger and hate. That being said she also needed to teach Scorpius not to bend down and take abuse; this was a huge mile stone in her life and she'd be damned if she let this one go wrong.

Tomorrow she decided finally…. Tomorrow she would tell Draco everything about herself and Astoria.

…

"Come on lads… come get your breakfast!" chirped Hermione cheerfully, cringing at the falsetto, her voice had risen almost an octave because of her nervousness. Draco walked out of the bathroom carrying their son with him, his face crumpled into a concerned frown.

"Hermione? Sweetheart its okay to be scared, we are going to be with you every step of the way." He said soothingly, stepping closer to his wife and wrapping his arm around her waist and dropping a kiss onto her soft shoulder. Hermione sighed and felt the tension drain out of her body for the first time in a few days and turned into her husband's embrace; resting her head against his muscular chest and feeling his steady heartbeats.

"Oh Draco…" she whispered, catching one of Scorpius's little flailing fists and kissing it gently, "I don't deserve you." Came her whisper as a treacherous tear made its way out of her eye.

"You have it all wrong… I'm the lucky one." he said gently, "Now stop crying sweetheart and tell me what the matter is?"

"You won't forgive me…" Hermione said sadly.

"Before I ask what it is that you have been hiding from me I want to know… do you regret your decision? Whatever this secret was…. Was it worth it knowing that I probably wouldn't forgive you when I found out?" he asked her quietly.

"It was in a way…. Draco I have been in touch with Astoria!" she blurted out in a rush. "Since I was in the hospital when I was rescued from Ron; I got in touch with this rehab facility that I knew about and I sent her there. Draco she really wants to get better! And I have been visiting her and stuff since then…" she said hesitantly because Draco's eyes had turned dark and his face looked like a thunder cloud was looming over it.

"Who knew about this?" he said in an ominous, cold voice.

"No one… I was doing it secretly." Hermione hung her head in shame. "I wanted to tell you but I feared your reaction…"

"Did she have any contact with Scorpius?" he said in the same chillingly cold voice.

Hermione shook her head, indicating that she didn't.

And Draco exploded angrily, "You little fool! What were you thinking!? You know she literally sold to Ron for cash to get her drugs right!? ARE YOU FUCKING SUICIDAL?! What is wrong with you!?" he yelled infuriated, Hermione flinched back in fear and Scorpius began to cry loud gasping sobs scared by his father's sudden outburst.

"Dadda!" he protested in high sweet baby voice when his father clutched him tighter.

"Gods Hermione! I never thought you would be this irresponsible!" he said furiously, putting he baby down gently and massaging his temples as if he had a head-ache.

"Draco she wanted to get clean! And I knew I had to help!" Hermione said imploringly, trying to make him understand.

"And pray tell me why would you want to help someone like Astoria Greengrass!?" he hissed, slamming one massive fist onto the table top shattering the crystal glasses laid out on top.

"Because we are more alike than you think!" Hermione cried out.

"I can't breathe… Merlin Hermione… what the fuck were you thinking?" Draco said coldly, his voice dripping in sarcasm and hurt that she had not told him earlier.

"Draco you wouldn't have helped her!" Hermione explained.

"NO I WOULDN'T HAVE! Because I know Astoria Greengrass, Hermione…. I was married to her for four years. And most of those years she spent getting high and then wanting to get clean again, it was like it was a game to her… that's why I knew what a waste of time it was trying to get her to stop using drugs. Merlin she did drugs when she was pregnant! Gods you are so naïve…. Please tell me you didn't give her money?" Draco said harshly, glaring at his wife.

Hermione didn't have to say anything… her guilty look confirmed it all.

"Draco… Plea…" she said reaching towards him.

"Save it Hermione; I don't want to listen to what you have to say. Not now and not about this. You know what I felt about having her near either you or Scorpius and yet you defied me… I'm trying to protect you woman!" Draco said frustrated.

"Draco I HAD to help her!" Hermione protested. "Please listen to me…"

"No! I don't want to hear it." Draco said holding up a hand to stop her speaking.

Draco scowled and walked out of the room coming back a few minutes later changed and carrying Scorpius's bag with him.

"I'm going out for a bit…" he said emotionlessly, "I'll be back soon. We'll talk then…" he said, scooping up his son and walking towards the door.

"DON'T WALK AWAY DRACO!" shrieked Hermione to the sound of the slamming door, "Don't walk away from me…" she whispered, collapsing on the floor, her knees hitting the cold tiles as tears blurred her vision and loud sobs tore out of her throat….

…

_**A/N:**_ _Hello peeps, well here we have the first fight between Draco and Hermione… God knows where this will lead._

_Don't forget to review and those of you who like stories like Raise Me Up; I have just started another story called __**Listen to the Words I Cannot Speak**__ where Scorpius Malfoy is deaf. _


	53. Chapter 50: Lost Him

_**Raise Me Up**_

"Mum it's me, could you open the door please?" Draco said knocking hurriedly.

"Draco love! What are you doing here?! Hermione and you have to be at court today!" Narcissa admonished, her voice surprised at seeing her son and grandson at the Manor door. "Draco? Draco… wha…" her voice trailed off as Draco walked into the house with a grim look on his face, his jaw clenched tight.

"What happened son?" Narcissa asked concerned.

"Hermione…. Gods! I can't even talk about it!" Draco said furiously, running a hand through his messy blond hair, "I had to get out of there or I would have strangled her!"

"What happened?" Narcissa soothed gently.

"She contacted Astoria…. Mother…. Mother! Why don't you look surprised by this!?" Draco demanded seeing a wry, slightly guilty look appear on his mother's face.

"Astoria came by the house when Hermione was in Mungos." Narcissa revealed hesitantly.

"And you didn't think it was relevant to inform me about this!?" Draco snarled angrily, "God you and Hermione! The both of you are UNBELIEVEABLE! Mother that woman has fucked with my life for four years or have you forgotten?!"

"Draco! Language!" Narcissa said shaking her head, "Draco she wants to help with the trial and you know she could be an expert witness! Oh darling don't be difficult! It's for the best!"

"'Don't be difficult' mother! Did you even listen to me when I talk? The woman is a leach of the worst kind. You should know she sold most of your jewelry when we got divorced…"

"Draco go home, we will talk about this later. You and Hermione are required to be at court at 10:30; finish up for the day and we will all then sit down and see what it to be done." Narcissa said firmly, putting one hand on Draco back and pushing him towards the front door.

"Mother! MOTHER! I'm serious this is way beyond the line!" Draco said moving away from Narcissa.

"DRACO!" shouted Narcissa finally, "Trust me I'm serious too, we will talk about this later. You will be with your wife through this trial and you will go now, do you understand young man?" she said through gritted teeth.

Draco glared at his mother and looked pointedly at the stroller which had Scorpius tucked into it, "Look after him mum, I have no interest in him hearing any more shouting matches between me and Hermione or between you and me for that matter. We'll be here at six and don't bother to cook anything, I'm certain we won't be staying here that long." He said coldly and walked out of the door.

…

Thank Merlin there was no hard liquor in the house thought Hermione despondently, she was curled up in a tight ball on her and Draco's bed. It was almost ten and if he didn't come now then she knew that Draco was not coming at all. Aware of the sharp stab of pain her chest she tried to suppress it.

She had to get up…. And get dressed she thought blankly; Blaise was coming by in fifteen minutes to brief her about what was going to happen today. He said they wouldn't be in court for more than an hour today because today was merely the reading of the charges which he was sure that Ron's lawyer would try to get dismissed and then from the next day on they would move to trial.

Walking over to her closet she picked out an old, drab gray suit. It was lose and unflattering, not bothering with any makeup other than a bit of concealer to cover the redness around her eyes and cheeks she pulled her hair up into a tight, restricted chignon that made the harsh panes of her already thin elfin face look even more stark. Her hands moved quickly and efficiently as she avoided looking at her wedding and engagement rings.

Finally she looked into the mirror and saw her reflection and shuddered; she looked cold. Her eyes were like stone; blank, she had fought hard with her tears to make them like that; it was perfect, no unnecessary swirling of emotions and tears.

It would be a cold day in hell before she cried in front of a pack of media wolves, Ron Weasley and his slag of a lawyer. She may have decided to forgive Ron but that didn't mean she wanted him to see any sign of her weakness. The rest of her face looked pale and lifeless, her skin stretching like translucent gossamer over her cheekbones and her lips were pursed into a straight line.

It was time…

A sound from the outer rooms indicated someone had just entered the flat and Hermione moved slowly towards the living-room with the sense of gloom rising and settling over her like a thick black cloud.

On the couch sat Draco, his face stony and equally blank. Hermione felt a surge of joy and almost rushed over to him but the first words out of his mouth stopped her.

"I'm just here because of the trial. We have to display a united front." He said tonelessly.

"Draco if you would just let me explain!" Hermione cried out imploringly.

"We are going to my mother's house this evening, you can explain there. As it turns out my mother knew about Astoria too. Funny she never thought to mention it to me." He sneered coldly.

For a second Hermione was transported back to her Hogwarts days when Draco had almost always worn a similar expression on his face while looking at her. A cold shiver of suppressed agony crawled up her spine and settled uncomfortably in her belly.

"Please don't speak like that…." She whispered; her voice painted in hurt and her eyes drawn away from his as she looked at the ground.

Draco looked confused for a second and frowned, "Like what?" he bit out.

"Like the way you used to when we were at Hogwarts, it makes me feel…." She let her words trail of as her eyes misted over.

Damnit! She swore inside her head. She promised herself she wouldn't cry and here she was fighting with the wretched tears like a ninny again.

Draco just shook his head and scowled, "Come on, I told Blaise I'd get you to the Ministry. Let's go." He said blandly, walking towards the fire place without looking back to wait for her.

Hermione sighed and cursed herself, looks like she had lost him….

…..

_**A/N: REVIEW! Please, oh and about the banner? Does anyone wanna do that?**_

_**2) AND OMFG! 50 chapters! So did not expect this story to get this far!, just a 110 or so reviews to to get to a 1000! **_

_**BUT SERIOUSLY 50 CHAPTERS! GOING CRAZY HERE! **_


	54. Chapter 51: Luna and Harry

_**Raise Me Up**_

Harry sat dejectedly at the end of the bar and looked into his tumbler of amber liquid like the answers he was searching for were there. James was spending the day with his uncles while Bill was still in town. Harry had not been able to sleep in the empty house so he had come here to Finnegan's which was Seamus's bar opened with Doria his muggle girlfriend.

One look at his face and Seamus had put down a glass and a bottle of his finest, strongest Scottish Fire-Whiskey. Harry was most definitely buzzed because everything around him moved at a super-fast pace and his ears were ringing lightly, he felt hopeless. Ginny was gone; the love of his life, Molly was gone; the closest thing he had to a mother figure and Ron was basically gone too, he wasn't himself anymore, he had been replaced with a raging psychopath.

Harry knew the war had changed them all it was bound to have; watching the loss of life both young and old was not an easy thing to witness. They all had their periods of acting out, of rebelling. But when had he become so blind? So oblivious to what Hermione was going through, so unaware of what Ron was doing to her, what he had become.

Harry sighed and lifted up his glass and felt the pleasant burn of the scorching liquor make its way down his throat, when suddenly he heard a soft, dreamy voice he hadn't heard in years beside him.

"You know alcohol doesn't solve problems so much as it create them."

Harry turned towards Luna with a slight grin on his face, "Luna!" he smiled at his old friend, who looked exactly the same as ever in her mismatched clothes, her purple radish earrings and a bright scarf in the most blindingly vivid shades of red and blue.

"Hello Harry," she smiled pleasantly, taking a delicate sip of her own drink. "It has been a long time; I'm afraid I have not been in touch with this world for quite some time."

"Yeah I heard you were in America doing some research."

"On the Dingby Dagnagger." She nodded seriously, "I was working with daddy and some of his friends to see if the creature really exists."

Harry felt an instant grin take form on his face; it was nice to see that some things never changed at all.

"Okay I'll bite," he grinned, "So does it exist?"

"Oh Harry don't be silly Wakaspurts are real not Dingby Dagnaggers." She said in a solemn tone that Harry had to resist laughing at. "What about you? The last I heard from Ginny was when she was pregnant. She stopped writing after that." Said Luna a little sadly.

Harry winced, "I'm sorry about that. Now when I do think about it we seemed a little self-absorbed."

"Oh! There's no need to feel that way Harry!" said Luna beaming at him, "I knew we weren't going to stay friends. There is not much we have in common, you all find me odd." She said as if it was a perfectly normal thing.

Harry winced again at Luna's brutal honesty; she was right of-course. He and Ginny had been so absorbed in their own lives that they had failed to look outside and see what was happening.

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to make you feel guilty." Luna's voice broke into his troubled thoughts, "I need to work on my tact."

"It's fine." He said with a bittersweet smile, "You're not the only friend I abandoned or watched getting hurt and did nothing about It." he said angrily, tipping back his glass of Whiskey again.

Luna gave him a strange, sympathetic look and said softly, "It must have been terrible for you; to get to know that Hermione was going through all that and that you never knew. After all the two of you are like each other's family. Both of you confused and terrified of this new world you were thrown into; she covered it up by being smarter and cleverer than everyone else and you covered it up with your bravado but the truth is that you cannot blame yourself."

"Can't I?" Harry said in a bitter voice, "I'm her best friend and as you so eloquently put it her 'family' how did I let this happen to her?!"

"You didn't know." whispered Luna gently.

"That's bullshit!" yelled Harry furiously the crystal glass in his hand shattering into a million pieces, "I bloody knew! But I was too much of a coward to do anything about!"

"Harry calm down! Did you even for a second think why she never told you? You were married into that family; you have been friends with Ron for ever so long."

"I just can't accept it. I keep going over and over it in my mind, each sick scenario, each time he beat her or threatened to rape her or abused her; called her a whore, a slut and I feel such rage filling me that I can't contain it and I just want to kill him. Just wrap my hands around his neck and squeeze the life out of him until I see the light go out!" he said savagely, his hands clenched into tight fists that his knuckles turned white.

Luna looked at him for a second before covering his hand with her own, "Do you want to get out here? Go someplace where we can talk" she said gently

…

**You know you guys are soooooooo sweet :* I mean being so patient while I write another chapter and helping me out. So I decided that you guys deserve a chapter *Hugs all of you tightly* so this is not Draco and Hermione but rather this is Harry and Luna. The beginning of their relationship.**

**2) I think some of you cursed me because I am now confined to my bed with Dengue fever :P And have nothing better to do than sit on FF. but still sorry for the short chapters; it's hard to write when you have a 102 degrees fever **

**Thank you **

**Urvashi **


	55. Chapter 52: Dead

_**Raise Me Up**_

"Draco is it truly so hard for you to accept that she has changed and wants to help!?" Hermione said helplessly.

"YES!" glared Draco , furiously pacing up and down the length of the room, "Hermione you seem to forget that this woman took Scorpius from me, so that she could pay for her drugs!"

"I never said that darling, but doesn't she deserve a second chance? Everyone deserves a second chance!" Hermione protested.

"Hermione this is not her second chance, it's her fifth or maybe her seventh; I cannot seem to recall." He said running his hands through his hair.

"But Draco…." She said reaching towards him.

"Enough! He is my son Hermione, my baby boy who I will do anything to protect and he is ill; she knows he is ill and yet to do what she did… Hermione, Scorpius always comes first. ALWAYS… and there is not one thing that I will not do to see to it that he is safe and happy. Do you know what his doctor told me when he was diagnosed? He said that the cause of his disorder was not genetic and that left out only one possibility…" Draco said angrily.

"Oh Draco no…. Please don't tell me…" Hermione said sadly.

"Oh yes… his darling mother who was already taking drugs when he was conceived didn't stop just because she was pregnant and I didn't even realize that she had been getting high our entire marriage until one day after she had moved out I found her stash. I love my son and it was not his fault he was born like this; it was my fault for being negligent. Do you know how gut ripping the pain and anger is when you find out that it is your fault your child can never have a normal life?" he said bitterly, cruelly, "Once she has testified I want her out Hermione; out of my life, out of my child's life. Or…"

"Are you giving me an ultimatum?" Hermione said shocked.

"Scorpius always comes first Hermione… always." He just said coldly.

"DRACO! He is my child too and… and you talk like I don't love or care about him at all!" Hermione got up furiously and marched towards him.

"Then start making decisions that will not put him on a platter to be served to the devil! Hermione you're his mother now… HIS MOTHER! I know it may be hard to love another woman's child or to love a child with a disability…" Draco said glaring at his wife.

Hermione gave a gasp of anger, "How could you Draco!? You know I love him more than my very life! What are you trying to do punish me for giving Astoria a chance? Trying to hit me where it hurts the most because I didn't tell you!?"

"I am doing whatever I have to do to protect him, she is unstable and neurotic and Merlin knows she might just start doing drugs again. I will not have my son's heart broken over and over again. Hermione he sees things, he notices moods and changes and once he gets used to someone and begins to love them it's just going to hurt him if they disappear from his life. Hermione he is a special needs child; he needs stability and routine and people who can give him the love he deserves without all the extra drama. He needs a family, he needs you and me. I want this trial to finish and just be a family, no more drama."

"Draco what am I supposed to say to her? Thanks for helping me but my husband still hates you… have a nice life!" she said sarcastically.

"If that's what it takes to get her out of our lives and into Azkaban!"

"Draco are you listening to yourself! She is helping us put RON AWAY don't you think we can just forget about prison!?" Hermione pleaded.

"What!? Because she committed the lesser evil?! I think now! Ron just got caught and she played the perfect grieving, undeserving mother to get your sympathy!"

"Draco don't be so cynical!"

"Hermione she is a Slytherin, I am not wrong on this trust me."

Suddenly a loud knock on the door interrupted the argument and Narcissa barged into the room with a scared look on her face.

"They just found Astoria's body; it was dropped in the middle of Diagon Ally… She's been killed."

….

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	56. Preview 2

**A/N :** _**Hey guys as it turn out I'm getting better, slowly but better all the same. As my strength increases I promise you a really long maybe like 8000 or something word chapter :D Do review :) **_

_**Raise Me Up **_

"I knew it! I just knew, letting him out was the biggest mistake you could ever make!" yelled Blaise, pacing up and down Judge Moss's chambers.

"Now hold on here! You're accusing my client without having any proof!" protested Andrea, "After all he's not the only one who wanted her dead."

"Don't be a bitch! You know the Ron is the only one who has no decent account of his whereabouts for the last few hours." Blaise viciously slammed his fist down onto the table, "Judge Moss we need to move this trial up now! This man is a menace to society, they knew Astoria Greengrass was on our witness list; testifying AGAINST Ron Weasley."

"Fine; call your clients now. If this is the game you want to play then let's do it. Tomorrow morning, I'll see the both of you in court and don't bother protesting Miss Finahphne because right now I am very much regretting putting your client out there in public again, it is clear that he has not yet gotten over his much baser, animal like tendencies of killing everything that seems to come in his way." She said caustically, "Oh and Andrea if you cannot control him, then I will shackle him up. So warn him now to keep his hands to himself." She bit of sarcastically, effectively dismissing them from her chambers.

Andrea burning with shame and Blaise mildly triumphant walked out of the room when she turned to him and snarled out, "You won't be smirking for long Zabini, not with what I have planned for you."

"Watch your tongue you shrieking harpy before I get you thrown of this case for misconduct and then you won't be smiling at all for a very – very long time." Blaise snarled right back.

With a flip of her long red hair Andrea turned around her stalked out of the hallway.

…


End file.
